Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy has categorically stated that there would be no National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming assembly election. “The Front in Tamil Nadu will only be known as the AIADMK-led alliance,” said Palaniswamy in his interaction with reporters on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister also made it clear that there would be no change in the AIADMK-led alliance. This means that all parties that contested in alliance with the AIADMK in the 2019 Lok Sabha election would fight the 2021 assembly election together.
He pointed out the announcement by C T Ravi, the BJP’s National Secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu that the Hindutwa party endorsed his name as the chief ministerial candidate. G K Vasan, leader of Tamil Manila Congress, too declared his party’s support for Palaniswamy as chief
minister.
A source close to Dr Ramadoss, founder of the Vanniyar dominated PMK, told The Pioneer that the party would remain with the AIADMK. “Doctor Ayya (as Ramadoss is addressed by others) is in talks with the AIADMK leadership for reservation for Vanniyar community in government institutions and jobs. If our demands are accepted, we will remain in the AIADMK-led alliance,” said the source.
But he also disclosed that there was no question of the PMK aligning with the DMK. “The DMK is the party which has done maximum damage to the Vanniyar community,” said the PMK leader.
This means that the DMDK is the only political outfit that is yet to make its stance known about the assembly polls. With party founder Vijayakanth ailing and remaining out of action, his wife and party treasurer Premalatha is unlikely to move towards the DMK camp, said a political commentator.
Political Tamil Nadu is expected to come alive after the visit of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi to Madurai on Thursday. The scion of the Congress party is flying down to Madurai to watch the traditional jallikattu (bull taming) at Avaniyapuram.
Congress chief K S Alagiri said that Rahul Gandhi has no other engagements except watching the bull taming. He is likely to interact with farmers to get a first hand information about the issues faced by them. Interestingly, the Congress had assured the people in its 2009 and 2014 election manifestos that the party, if voted back to power, would ban Jallikattu.
J P Nadda, BJP President, too would pay a two day visit to Tamil Nadu starting Thursday. Besides celebrating Pongal (the annual harvest festival of Tamil Nadu) at a suburb in Chennai, the BJP boss would be the chief guest at the anniversary celebrations of Thuglak , the weekly launched by late “Cho” Ramaswamy. The Thuglak anniversary is rated as Tamil Nadu’s major socio-political-cultural event held on January 14 every year.
