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Chennai: In another major setback for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), former Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar resigned as a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and quit the party on Monday. His resignation makes him the sixth AIADMK MLA to leave the party following the 2026 Assembly elections.

MR Vijayabaskar represented the Karur Assembly constituency and submitted his handwritten resignation to Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker JCD Prabakaran. Accepting the resignation under Rule 21 of the Rules and Procedure of the Legislative Assembly, the Speaker confirmed that the MLA had personally handed over his resignation letter.

Vijayabaskar served as the Transport Minister in the cabinet of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. He was defeated by DMK leader V. Senthil Balaji in the 2021 Assembly elections but successfully reclaimed the Karur seat in the 2026 Assembly polls.

His resignation follows a series of high-profile exits from the AIADMK. Earlier, four MLAs resigned from the Assembly and later joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), reducing the opposition party’s strength in the House.

Former AIADMK leader C. Vijayabaskar, who resigned from the party nearly two weeks ago, is also expected to join Chief Minister Vijay’s TVK in the coming days.

Before MR Vijayabaskar’s exit, Esakki Subaya (Ambasamudram), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), and C. Vijayabaskar (Viralimalai) had also resigned from the Assembly after leaving the AIADMK.

The string of resignations has significantly weakened the AIADMK’s legislative strength and poses a fresh challenge for party chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the opposition party seeks to rebuild after the 2026 elections.