Overview
- The Orathanadu MLA submitted his resignation in person to Speaker M. Appavu at the Secretariat in Chennai on January 21.
- He formally joined the DMK at Anna Arivalayam, where Chief Minister M. K. Stalin welcomed him.
- Udhayanidhi Stalin, K. N. Nehru and TKS Elangovan were present at the induction, according to News18.
- Vaithilingam is a former AIADMK minister and a longtime O. Panneerselvam loyalist who was expelled from the AIADMK in 2022.
- His exit creates a vacancy in the Assembly and follows P. H. Manoj Pandian’s earlier crossover, leaving Vellamandi Natarajan as the only MLA publicly backing Panneerselvam.