K A Sengottaiyan, an 82-year-old veteran expelled from AIADMK last month, is expected to join actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) at a party event on Thursday. This move marks the first major induction of a senior Dravidian leader into the fledgling outfit. It could bolster TVK's electoral prospects while straining ties with AIADMK ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
K A Sengottaiyan, a long-time AIADMK leader with over five decades in the party, was expelled on October 31 after aligning with expelled figures O Panneerselvam, V K Sasikala, and T T V Dhinakaran at a Thevar Jayanthi event in Ramanathapuram. The expulsion followed his ignored September ultimatum for AIADMK faction reconciliation and unsuccessful outreach to BJP leaders and an RSS ideologue in Delhi. Sources in TVK confirm Sengottaiyan met party leaders John Arockiaswamy and Aadhav Arjun last weekend, with a final meeting scheduled with Vijay on Wednesday to seal his entry.
Sengottaiyan's induction, if confirmed, would provide TVK—launched by Vijay and relying on his star appeal—with a seasoned face lacking in conventional leadership. He retains a strong personal vote base in Gobichettipalayam, Erode district, potentially securing the party an assured Assembly seat alongside Vijay's own. A TVK insider described him as the 'first veteran face' to project maturity without factional baggage, likening his role to Panruti Ramachandran's for the DMDK in 2005.
The move complicates TVK's ambiguous ties with AIADMK, which Vijay has praised through icons like M G Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa while criticizing DMK and BJP. It dashes hopes of a TVK-AIADMK alliance that could challenge DMK, benefiting the ruling party. Within AIADMK, under Edappadi K Palaniswami, the development elicits little reaction, with functionaries viewing Sengottaiyan as irrelevant for years. TVK sources also hint at YouTuber Felix Gerald possibly joining the same event, amid AIADMK's planned public meeting in Gobichettipalayam on Thursday.