CHENNAI: Former AIADMK MP Maitreyan joins DMK

Chennai: Former AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP V. Maitreyan on Wednesday quit the main opposition party and joined the DMK. Maitreyan met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam and formally joined the ruling party. Maitreyan was on the sidelines in the AIADMK since the death of former general secretary J. Jayalalithaa in December 2016. After being expelled from the party by current party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami for indulging in anti-party activities, he returned to his parent party BJP in 2023.

Maitreyan was among the few AIADMK leaders who sided with rebel O. Panneerselvam after the split in the party following Jayalalithaa’s demise. However, even during his second stint in the BJP, Maitreyan could not secure any major post. A disappointed Maitreyan left the BJP again and returned to the AIADMK a year later in 2024, when he wrote to EPS seeking a return to the party. Maitreyan had been a three-time AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP due to his relationship with then party general secretary Jayalalithaa.