With the return of the Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS)-led All India Anna Dravidar Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and a change of leadership in the state BJP, the ruling alliance at the Centre has lost a key partner in the South, as TTV Dhinakaran walked out of the NDA on Wednesday following in the footsteps of O Panneerselvam (OPS) who left on July 31. The timing of the exits is being seen as a blow for the BJP, which is eyeing electoral inroads in the state in next year’s assembly elections.
On a day when Union home minister Amit Shah met BJP leaders from election-bound states in Delhi, on Wednesday, Dhinakaran announced that his party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), was leaving the NDA after it was clear that the AIADMK wasn’t willing to acknowledge and accommodate them.
Dhinakaran didn’t mince words when he said Shah’s aim of uniting all parties against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu wasn’t working. Meanwhile, AIADMK veteran K A Sengottaiyan, who has been rebelling against EPS, called for a press meet on September 5 which is expected to be a call to unite all factions of the party that were together under late J Jayalalithaa before EPS took over. A week ago, Dhinakarana’s aunt, V K Sasikala, called for the unification of the AIADMK.
However, Dhinakaran bought time saying that he would announce their decision on an alliance in December. Hours after Shah told BJP state leaders to include more parties in the NDA on September 3, Dhinakaran told reporters in Cuddalore district, “We have decided to walk out of the NDA. We will announce our stand on the alliance in December. We thought he (Palaniswami) would reform himself or be reformed (by the BJP), but nothing happened. Rather, what we saw in the past two months is an open display of arrogance (by Palaniswami).”
{{/usCountry}}However, Dhinakaran bought time saying that he would announce their decision on an alliance in December. Hours after Shah told BJP state leaders to include more parties in the NDA on September 3, Dhinakaran told reporters in Cuddalore district, “We have decided to walk out of the NDA. We will announce our stand on the alliance in December. We thought he (Palaniswami) would reform himself or be reformed (by the BJP), but nothing happened. Rather, what we saw in the past two months is an open display of arrogance (by Palaniswami).”
{{/usCountry}}Dhinakaran added, “This is not a knee jerk decision. It is well-thought-out. When we are not respected and when we are not needed in a place, we have to chart our own path, and that’s what we have done,” Dhinakaran said.
The exit of Dhinakaran and OPS and Sengottaiyan who has been vocal against EPS’ functioning is said to also draw on the ire of those within the AIADMK who have been unhappy about re-joining the BJP. Possibly hinting at a tie-up with South superstar Vijay fledgeling outfit , Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), Dhinakaran said , “Just like how Vijayakanth once shook the political stage, Vijay will dent all parties.”
“We will wait till December. If we don’t get any positive response from the BJP on getting EPS to accept us in the NDA, we might launch negotiations with actor Vijay,” said an AMMK leader not wishing to be named. Vijay has promised power sharing to whoever is willing to join him while declaring the DMK and the BJP as his political and ideological foes.
The NDA believed the joining of Dhinakaran and OPS to the NDA fold, to offset the exit of the AIADMK in 2023 blaming former BJP state president K Annamalai for insulting their Dravidian leaders, would help them build a support base among the Thevars, an OBC community that dominates south Tamil Nadu. However, EPS re-joined the alliance on the condition that he doesn’t have to deal with Annamalai, which was why the BJP replaced him with Nainar Nagendran, another Thevar leader.
Playing down Dhinakaran’s exit, BJP state vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said those opposing the DMK will continue joining the NDA. “Those who oppose the DMK government’s misconduct over the past four years should join the NDA,” Thirupathy said.