Several leading members of the DMDK, including filmmaker Ibrahim Rowther, a friend of its founder A. Vijayakant, on Tuesday quit the party and joined Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK.
The DMDK members jumping their ship came days after Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and Leader of Opposition Vijayakant clashed in the assembly.
DMDK members call Vijayakant ‘Captain’, a sobriquet he earned after his movie Captain Prabhakaran.
Other key DMDK functionaries who have joined AIADMK are the party's election wing secretary K. Jagaveerapandiyan, medical wing secretary Pari and the unsuccessful mayoral candidate for Chennai K. Velmurugan.
Welcoming them into the AIADMK, Jayalalithaa said they had a bright future in her party.