CHENNAI: Ties between the AIADMK and BJP have turned testy, with analysts wondering if the alliance is on its last leg. The decision of the interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to admit into the AIADMK BJP functionaries levelling serious charges against the saffron party’s state chief K Annamalai has raised the hackles of BJP cadre. While the functionaries of both parties have been warring on social media, on Tuesday, BJP workers took to the streets and burned ‘betrayer EPS’ in effigy at Kovilpatti.
It was BJP state IT wing president CTR Nirmal Kumar’s resignation letter from the party, in which he accused Annamalai of having covert dealings with the DMK, that sparked the feud. A day after he joined the AIADMK, pledging allegiance to EPS, the BJP’s intellectual wing secretary Krishnan, IT wing state secretary Dilip Kannan, OBC wing secretary Ammu alias Jothi and Trichy rural district deputy president Vijay joined the AIADMK in the presence of EPS. At Madurai, some AIADMK cadres joined the BJP in the presence of Annamalai.
Speaking to reporters at Madurai, Annamalai made no effort to hide his feelings. Asked about BJP functionaries joining the AIADMK, he said, “You are asking this as if thousands of our cadre had joined that party. Certain parties are now forced to pull second-rung and third-rung leaders of the BJP for their growth... For every reaction, there will be a reaction. Now there is an action. You may see the reaction in two months and vice versa.”
In an emotional outburst, he said, “As long as blood runs through my veins no one can see the BJP in TN as a junior partner (in an alliance)... I am not after posts. I am here to make the BJP the ruling party of TN. Even if there is a directive from Delhi, I won’t budge.”
“Annamalai has not come here to make idli, dosa or chapati. My leadership will never look like that of a manager. When leaders like Amma (J Jayalalithaa) and Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) took some decisions, some people left them too,” he asserted.
In response, AIADMK’s IT wing secretary Singai G Ramachandran asked how BJP, which secured fewer votes than NOTA, could have won MLAs in the 2021 elections on its own. “Those BJP functionaries are required for the growth of the AIADMK is a laughable view,” he said.
The back-and-forth has given political analyst Tharasu Shyam the view that the alliance between the two parties is almost broken. “Most of the AIADMK cadre dislike the alliance with the BJP. EPS has been extending only half-hearted support to that party. There is no coordination among the cadres of both parties at the grassroots level. Even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this disconnect was there and the alliance failed in that election,” he opined.
Asked why EPS seemed to be pulling away from BJP, Shyam said, “EPS is playing his cards close to his chest. He wants to get the anti-DMK votes for the AIADMK. He wants to project himself as a leader who can take on the DMK as well as the BJP”
Political analyst Raveenthran Thuraisamy believed the alliance has failed due to mutual distrust. “BJP feels EPS could not garner votes despite having the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol in the Erode by-election while AIADMK feels the BJP is a liability.”
However, he is of the view that EPS’ moves will not benefit him. “BJP alone can neutralise caste polarisation against EPS in the west and north belts of TN,” he said.