The AIADMK on Monday called off its alliance with the BJP irked over the reported allegations made by the Hindutva party’s State chief K Annamalai against former Chief Ministers CN Annadurai and J Jayalalithaa.
“There is no more alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP. We have also come out of the National Democratic Alliance,” said party strongman KP Munusamy, who briefed the media after the day-long conclave of the party’s State and district leaders held at Chennai.
Munusamy also declared that there would be no more alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP in future.
The entire AIADMK cadre and leadership are upset and shocked over the comments made by Annamalai that Annadurai, former Chief Minister and party icon, had humiliated Hinduism at an event in 1956.
A prelude to this decision was made by former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar that there was no alliance between his party and the BJP as on date.
“Alliances are made at the time of election. All I can say is that there is no NDA or alliance with the BJP. I don’t know what is in store for the party in future,” Jayakumar had told reporters last week.
Over the last few months, the ties between the BJP and the AIADMK were getting vitiated over many issues. While leaders of the BJP remained incommunicado about the latest developments, political pundits in Tamil Nadu are of the view that the AIADMK had committed a political hara-kiri by snapping the ties with the Hindutva party.
“What the AIADMK has done today is the repetition of what the DMK did during 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The DMK had snapped its ties with the Congress and the result was a disaster for the former. It failed to win even a single seat from the State.
“Jayalalithaa, who led the AIADMK from the front, had projected herself as a Prime Ministerial candidate and bagged 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats. Do you think Edappadi Palanisamy, the general secretary of the AIADMK has the charisma of Jayalalithaa? The AIADMK is in for major trouble if it goes solo,” said GC Shekhar, veteran commentator.
He also pointed out that if the AIADMK had wanted to come out of the NDA, it should have done in August itself when Annamalai is reported to have made the statement condemning Annadurai.
“If the AIADMK leadership is upset over Annamalai’s statement, why did Palanisamy go and meet the Union Home Minister afterwards?,” asked Shekhar.
Rangaraj Pande, former editor-in-chief of Thanthi TV, is of the view that the AIADMK’s resentment is only towards the State leadership of the BJP.
“Edappadi Palanisamy has close links with Home Minister Amit Shah and the party’s all India chief JP Nadda. Annamalai seems to be the eyesore of the AIADMK.
“Moreover the DMK leadership is ridiculing the AIADMK leaders as slaves and stooges of the BJP. Though it is the end of the road for the BJP-AIADMK alliance, anything can happen after the 2024 polls,” said Pande.
The past ties between the AIADMK and the BJP were not at all comfortable. In 1998, the AIADMK brought down the Vajpayee-led NDA Government after a year long political honeymoon.
Though the two parties patched up by 2004, the DMK-led front swept the AIADMK-BJP combination by winning all the 39 seats from the State.
From that day onwards, the AIADMK had kept off the the BJP alliance and this was revived only in 2019 which didn’t cut ice with the electorate.
Shekhar is of the view that the AIADMK is likely to face a rout if it sticks to the decision of calling off the alliance. “The BJP under Annamalai is getting stringer by the day while the AIADMK is a divided house. With O Panneerselvan, VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran being sent out of the party, the AIADMK has lost a major vote share. Palaniswamy is no match for the BJP’s central leadership as he is waging a losing battle as on date,” said Shekhar.’
