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'BJP, AIADMK will contest together in Tamil Nadu': Nadda
The party had also announced chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami as its candidate for the top post.
BJP national president JP Nadda formally announced on Saturday night that the alliance with the ruling AIADMK will continue for the assembly elections slated for April-May. The announcement came during his rally in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district. "The BJP has decided in the coming times it will contest with the AIADMK and other like-minded parties in the elections," said Nadda, clad in traditional Tamil attire.
The AIADMK had been the first to make the move by announcing that their alliance formed ahead of the 2019 parliamentary elections will continue as early as November when Union home minister Amit Shah was in Chennai to inaugurate infrastructure projects.
The party had also announced chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami as its candidate for the top post. Since then, there was uneasiness between the two partners as the BJP did not reciprocate initially. As tension mounted, the state leaders maintained that as a national party, it was the norm for their leadership in Delhi to make the announcements. It was expected to be made by Nadda who is on his second visit to the state this month. Earlier, on Pongal day, he addressed the 51st anniversary of Thuglak magazine currently being edited by S Gurumurthy.
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Party president JP Nadda who arrived in the temple town late Friday night visited the famous Meenakshi Amman temple accompanied by his wife on Saturday morning. He also conducted a series of meetings with the state party’s core committee, social media volunteers and newly joined members before addressing the public on Saturday evening. The BJP’s poll plank has been to consolidate Hindu votes by attacking the opposition’s MK Stalin-led DMK. The BJP carried out a ‘vetrivel yatra’ (victorious spear march) which has subsequently become its electioneering slogan which they say is to protect Hindu interests in the state.
Nadda highlighted central schemes that have benefited the state and reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a supporter of Tamil language having quoted Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar on several national and international platforms. “When he was, elected not only was the future of India safe but the destiny of Tamil Nadu also changed in its development,” said Nadda. He added that the state received justice comparing funds allotted to it during the UPA regime and the current Modi government. Last week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked PM Modi-led BJP, stating that Tamil Nadu was in danger as they disrespected the southern state, its language and culture.
Meanwhile, AIADMK top leadership was also in Madurai on Saturday as Palaniswami and his deputy O Paneerselvam inaugurated a temple with life-size bronze statues of their late stalwarts - MG Ramachandran (MGR) and J Jayalalithaa. The temple is located in a sprawling 12-acre plot in Thirumangalam and was constructed for ₹50-lakh. The bronze statues weigh 400-kilograms each. Speaking after the unveiling, Palaniswami revered the late leaders and rallied the crowd to work towards winning the upcoming assembly elections slated for April-May. Even while the BJP swept the parliamentary polls across India in 2014 and 2019, it was trounced in Tamil Nadu. The DMK won 38/39 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 drubbing the AIADMK-BJP combine.
The AIADMK is aiming for a consecutive third term after winning back-to-back polls under Jayalalithaa’s leadership before she passed away while in office in December 2016. With Jayalalithaa's close aide and expelled leader VK Sasikala set to return to Chennai, Palaniswami-led AIADMK has been firm that she won't be taken back into the party and is appropriating the MGR-Jayalalithaa legacy in a series of actions. Besides campaigning on their legacy, the AIADMK is hopeful based on their performance in tackling Covid-19, its welfare schemes and reservation measures.
Other allies of the AIADMK-led NDA alliance, such as the PMK and the DMDK, have also been posturing. The PMK has demanded that the AIADMK carves a 20 per cent reservation for their community and vote bank - the Vanniyars - under the existing Most Backward Caste quota. The DMDK has asked the AIADMK to allot them 41 seats as they did in 2011 and have also welcomed Sasikala into politics.
