Actor Vijayakanth loses one more MLA

In October last year, DMDK MLAs Arun Pandian and K Tamil Azhagan were the first to meet Jayalalithaa under the pretext of discussing welfare measures for their constituencies. A week later, two more MLAs, including party chief Vijayakanth's long-time friend, S Sunderarajan and Radhapuram MLA C Michael Rayappan called on the AIADMK supremo. The government made new seating arrangements for the four DMDK dissidents in the legislative assembly, causing much discomfiture to the actor-turned-politician. 

There was pandemonium in the House recently when the DMDK MLAs came to blows with the dissidents and were evicted en masse. The party, which fought the assembly polls in alliance with the AIADMK and won 29 seats, had to part ways after relationship between the parties soured within months of government formation. A furious AIADMK leader had openly aired her animosity towards Vijayakanth in the assembly, saying she regretted having forged an alliance with the actor's party. 

While Vijayakanth had earlier dismissed the meeting of his MLAs as "a drama" and exhorted party supporters to work hard for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, there could be more trouble for the actor with rumours that a few more of his MLAs are waiting to jump the fence ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.