A major political controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu after Chennai Police arrested at least three people for allegedly trying to bribe and threaten a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA. The arrests came after TVK Uthangarai MLA N. Elaiyaraja filed a complaint claiming that he received an offer of ₹35 crore in exchange for supporting a proposed no-confidence motion against the Speaker in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

According to the police, the accused contacted Elaiyaraja over the phone and allegedly tried to influence his vote. The MLA stated in his complaint that one of the accused, Thirunavukkarasu, introduced himself as a person associated with a political organisation. He reportedly informed Elaiyaraja that a no-confidence motion against the Assembly Speaker would soon be brought before the House.

Elaiyaraja alleged that the accused offered him ₹35 crore to vote in a particular manner during the proposed motion. He claimed that he immediately rejected the offer. The complaint also stated that the accused later threatened to harm him and his family after he refused to cooperate. Following the complaint, the police launched an investigation and arrested three people in connection with the alleged bribery and intimidation attempt.

The case has also triggered fresh political allegations. Police sources said that one of the arrested persons allegedly has links with DMK leader Senthil Balaji. They also claimed that Balaji's brother, V. Ashok Kumar, had met one of the accused, Naresh, in Chennai. However, the investigation is still underway, and the police have not announced any further findings regarding these alleged links.

The TVK strongly reacted to the arrests and claimed that political rivals were trying to weaken the Vijay-led government. In its statement, the party said its opponents had earlier tried to stop TVK from forming the government. It further alleged that they were now attempting to destabilise the government through horse-trading.

The party also claimed that middlemen had approached one of its MLAs with an offer of crores of rupees. It said the arrests had exposed what it described as a larger conspiracy against the government. According to TVK, the incident shows that efforts were being made to influence elected representatives through illegal means.

Tamil Nadu Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar also accused the DMK of trying to lure TVK legislators. He alleged that leaders associated with the DMK had been approaching TVK MLAs for the past 40 days with cash offers. He claimed that these efforts aimed to gather support for a no-confidence motion against the Assembly Speaker.

The minister further alleged that discussions had taken place regarding the amount of money that would be paid to individual MLAs. He claimed that some legislators were offered as much as ₹50 crore to support the move against the Speaker. Kumar directly blamed senior DMK leaders for the alleged attempts to influence TVK lawmakers.

“Senthil Balaji, acting on the orders of Stalin and Udhayanidhi, has approached our MLAs, offering up to ₹50 crore. They have been attempting to horse-trade with our members for the past 40 days. Discussions have taken place regarding who should pay whom and how much money is involved. Stalin and Udhayanidhi are engaging in despicable, low-level tactics," Kumar said.

The arrests have intensified the political battle between the TVK and the DMK. While TVK has described the incident as an organised attempt to destabilise its government, the allegations against the accused and their alleged political links are now under police investigation. The developments have drawn significant attention across the state and are likely to remain a key political issue in the coming days.