A decision on AIADMK’S alliance with the BJP in Tamil Nadu will be taken closer to next year’s assembly elections, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, or EPS, said on Wednesday, a day after he met Union Home minister Amit Shah in the national capital.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader flew to Delhi on Tuesday, fueling speculation about the party’s return to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold.
“Is there an election now?” EPS said, adding that a decision on the alliance with the BJP will be taken “only close to elections.”
The AIADMK, the opposition party in Tamil Nadu, had said in its official version that EPS is in Delhi to visit the news party office. EPS inaugurated the party building, constructed for ₹10 crore, via videoconferencing from Chennai.
“Our ideology is intact. The alliance will change as per situation and opportunity. Will all allies remain in DMK forever? The next election is only next March. There is a year for us to decide on these things,” he said.
Is there an election now? Only close to elections, will an alliance be decided.
In his 45-minute long meeting with Shah, Palaniswami said, he only discussed problems faced by people and sought the Union government’s intervention to solve them. There were no discussions on alliance, her said
“We spoke to him about people’s problems. We spoke in detail for 45 minutes. Tamil Nadu is heading in the wrong direction,” EPS, who is also leader of opposition in the TN assembly, told reporters in Delhi. He said he was in the national capital to visit AIADMK’s newly opened office and had sought an appointment with Shah only to raise issues of the state.
In February, the AIADMK ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the BJP. The party’s stand was made in a statement released on a day when 16 AIADMK leaders joined the BJP in New Delhi. But Amit Shah, in an interview to a local daily, did not rule out the possibility of a rapprochement.
Snapped ties in 2023
Before the Delhi visit of EPS, there have been discussions between AIADMK and BJP leaders back in Tamil Nadu. Among other things, EPS is also expected to explain to senior BJP leaders in Delhi the impact of the three-language policy and upcoming delimitation.
The AIADMK had aligned with the BJP following supremo J Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016. But after DMK’s sweep of the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, EPS pulled away from the alliance in 2023.
Now, as reports suggest, the AIADMK, has no other option. but to align with the BJP if it wants to exist in the state’s political landscape. Also, actor Vijay launching his own party – Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is also one of the factors driving AIADMK’s change in heart.
The party has reportedly put some conditions on the alliance. The party wants the BJP to form a high-powered steering committee to oversee coordination between the parties. The authority, the Indian Express report said, would outrank Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai.
Annamalai relentless attacks on AIADMK was one of the reasons why the parties snapped ties in 2023.
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