Actor Sarath Kumar's AISMK returns to AIADMK fold

Chennai: In a surprising development, actor-politician R Sarath Kumar's AISMK, which had walked out of the AIADMK alliance to join NDA recently, returned to the ruling party-led coalition.

Kumar, a sitting legislator from Tenkasi, called on AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence and extended AISMK's support to her, a party release said.

"Sarath Kumar extended his party's full support to AIADMK. Amma (Jayalalithaa) thanked him for it," it added.

AISMK, which had joined hands with AIADMK for the 2011 polls, had recently suffered a split with an MLA of the party, A Narayanan, floating a separate outfit.

Narayanan was part of the seven small political parties which had called on Jayalalithaa recently to extend their support to AIADMK for the May 16 Assembly polls.

Sarath Kumar had on February 28 called on BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, when he visited Tamil Nadu to meet DMDK leader Vijayakant for alliance talks.

BJP had then welcomed Kumar to the "NDA team for the 2016 elections."