Expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) KA Sengottaiyan resigned from his MLA post on November 26 amid speculations that he will join actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on November 27.
Elected as MLA for Gobichettipalayam, Sengottaiyan tendered his resignation to Assembly speaker M Appavu at the Secretariat.
The Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law, empowers the Assembly Speaker to disqualify legislators who switch parties after being elected.
Tensions between Sengottaiyan and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) have been escalating for months.
Sengottaiyan was expelled in October, a day after he met with former AIADMK leaders, including VK Sasikala, O Panneerselvam, and TTV Dhinakaran, at the guru pooja for Muthuramalinga Thevar in Ramanathapuram.
In September, he was sacked from all party responsibilities, including his post as Organisation Secretary and Erode (Rural West) District Secretary, after he publicly challenged the party’s high command with an ultimatum to reinstate estranged leaders within ten days or risk losing ground ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
A long-time loyalist of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Sengottaiyan said at the time that he had been pressing for unity to dislodge the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Sengottaiyan began his political career in the 1970s as a panchayat president from Kullampalayam in Coimbatore district. He was elected as MLA for the Sathyamangalam constituency in 1977, when MG Ramachandran (MGR) was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time.
A nine-time legislator, he held various portfolios like Transport, Agriculture, Revenue, and Information Technology as Minister in late CM Jayalalithaa’s Cabinet.