Chennai: A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah told Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Tamil Nadu to target over 25 seats from the state for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in next year’s Lok Sabha elections, the party’s ally, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Monday expressed unhappiness over BJP state chief K. Annamalai’s reported dig at late chief minister and AIADMK supremo, J. Jayalalithaa, for alleged corruption.
Former minister and senior AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar and expelled AIADMK leader, O. Panneerselvam hit out at Annamalai Monday, with Jayakumar warning that the party may reconsider its alliance with the BJP if the Tamil Nadu unit chief continued to target its ally.
Calling Annamalai a political novice, Jayakumar at a press conference in Chennai said, “When the BJP’s national leadership wants an alliance with the AIADMK, Annamalai is against it.”
In an interview published in Times of India Monday, Annamalai was asked if he would agree that the 1991-96 period was among the worst in terms of corruption in the state.
In reply, Annamalai was quoted as saying, “Many administrations in Tamil Nadu were corrupt. Former chief ministers have been convicted in courts of law. That is why Tamil Nadu has become one of the most corrupt states. I would say it is number one in corruption.”
The AIADMK, with Jayalalithaa at the helm of affairs, was in power in the state between 1991 and 1996.
The AIADMK and BJP had forged an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2021 assembly polls, but failed to win either.
The past several months have seen a cold war between the AIADMK and the BJP in Tamil Nadu. Earlier in a closed-door meeting, in March, Annamalai was said to have hinted that he was not in favour of allying with the AIADMK for the 2024 poll. In April, however, AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), along with other senior party leaders, had met Amit Shah in Delhi and later announced the continuity of the alliance for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Now, Annamalai’s perceived dig at Jayalalithaa has triggered a fresh row between the two parties.
‘Will have to reconsider alliance’
Jayakumar, one of the official spokespersons of the AIADMK, accused Annamalai of “breaching the alliance dharma” and being “immature” and “unfit for his post”.
“Instead of criticising the common and permanent enemy, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Annamalai has criticised our leader who has passed away… Annamalai has made every AIADMK cadre furious today. We strongly condemn his statement,” he said.
He added: “AIADMK workers wish to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi get elected again. But Annamalai’s action just shows that he does not want the AIADMK-BJP alliance to continue, and Modi to become the Prime Minister again.”
Stating that the remarks made by the state BJP chief have not gone down well with the party cadres, Jayakumar expressed confidence that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National BJP president J.P. Nadda would take suitable action against Annamalai.
“When the BJP’s national leadership wants an alliance with the AIADMK, Annamalai is against it,” said Jayakumar. “If he continues to speak like this, our party leadership will have to reconsider their alliance with the BJP,” he warned.
Meanwhile, ousted AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam also joined the chorus and called Annamalai an “immature politician”. In a statement on Twitter he said Jayalalithaa’s regime was a golden period in the history of Tamil Nadu politics, and Annamalai was unaware of its history.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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