Chennai: Less than a week after he was suspended by party chief Thol Thirumavalavan for ‘disrupting discipline’, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna resigned from the party Sunday. In a statement on ‘X’, Aadhav said he took the decision to avoid any unnecessary discussion about him in public.
Aadhav was suspended from the party for six months on 9 December, three days after he shared a stage with actor-turned-politician Vijay at a book launch in Chennai.
In his address, Aadhav was critical of the ruling DMK, of which the VCK is an ally.
In the statement he issued Sunday, Aadhav said that he will continue his political journey with VCK on the lines of social justice, caste eradication and women empowerment. “However, in order to avoid unwanted debates around my opinion, I have decided to relieve myself fully from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.”
பெறுநர்;
எழுச்சித் தமிழர் திரு.தொல். திருமாவளவன்,
தலைவர், விடுதலைச் சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சி,பொருள்; விடுதலைச் சிறுத்தைகள் கட்சியிலிருந்து முழுமையாக விலகுவது தொடர்பாக,
நான் என்றும் மதிக்கும் அன்புத் தலைவருக்கு வணக்கம்,
விடுதலைச் சிறுத்தைகள்… pic.twitter.com/kNdZVtB4aT
— Aadhav Arjuna (@AadhavArjuna) December 15, 2024
A source close to Aadhav told ThePrint he is likely to join hands with Vijay, who launched his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in February this year.
“He [Aadhav] spoke against DMK by embracing the ideologies of Ambedkar. Vijay, who has declared Ambedkar as one of his party’s ideological mentors, seems to have liked him. Aadhav and Vijay had a conversation after the book release function,” said the source.
VCK deputy general secretary R. Vanniyarasu maintained that Aadhav’s resignation will not have any impact on the party’s functioning. “The party is built on a strong ideological base and cadres would not yield to Aadhav’s gimmicks. There is no loss for the party, in fact, it is good for our alliance [with the ruling DMK],” Vanniyarasu told ThePrint.
Having been associated with the DMK until the 2021 Tamil Nadu elections, Aadhav Arjuna drifted towards VCK and subsequently joined the party as a primary member days before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He was appointed as one of VCK’s deputy general secretaries.
Aadhav courted controversy in September by appealing to DMK for a share in power. His remarks caused a stir within the DMK-led alliance, but VCK chief Thirumavalavan backed him, saying there was nothing wrong with stating the party’s ideology.
After actor Vijay declared DMK his party’s political enemy and BJP its ideological enemy, Aadhav—who is also a founder of the political consultancy firm Voice of Commons—organised a book release on 6 December to mark the death anniversary of Dr Ambedkar.
The plan was that Vijay would unveil the book along with Thirumavalavan, but the VCK chief decided to skip the event, sensing that his attendance could be perceived as a rift within the DMK-led alliance. In his place, Aadhav attended the book launch in his capacity as a founder of Voice of Commons, which was a co-publisher of the book.
During the event, Aadhav trained his guns on the DMK, saying the ‘rule of monarchy’ will be brought to an end in 2026—when elections are due next in Tamil Nadu.
Aadhav is the son-in-law of ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, whose firm was the biggest contributor of electoral bonds to the DMK.
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