Overview
- He formally entered the DMK at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai in the presence of Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, with senior leaders including Duraimurugan and Kanimozhi attending.
- Hours later, he resigned his Alangulam Assembly seat in person and Speaker M. Appavu said the resignation was in order and accepted, leaving the constituency vacant.
- With his exit, the number of Assembly seats headed for by-elections rises to three, alongside Senthamangalam and Valparai as reported by PTI.
- He accused the AIADMK of abandoning its founding principles and functioning like a BJP affiliate, while praising Stalin’s leadership and the DMK’s Dravidian platform.
- A lawyer and former Rajya Sabha member (2010–2016), Pandian is an OPS loyalist and the son of late former Speaker P. H. Pandian, giving the move symbolic weight in southern Tamil Nadu.