AIADMK To Forge New Alliance, Ends BJP Partnership For Parliamentary Elections

The AIADMK, led by Edapadi K Palaniswami, has announced its intention to establish a separate alliance for the upcoming Parliamentary elections. Moreover, the party has declared that it will no longer maintain its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a stance that contradicts the assertions made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin.

This decision by the AIADMK comes just three days after the party formally terminated its four-year-old partnership with the BJP and exited the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The party has communicated its intention to lead a distinct front for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

AIADMK senior leader KP Munusamy addressed reporters in Krishnagiri and clarified that the party has not demanded the removal of BJP state president K Annamalai. He dismissed the notion, stating that it would be impractical for a party of AIADMK's stature to seek the removal of another party's state president. He emphasized that AIADMK is not inclined to interfere in the functioning of other political entities.

In response to inquiries about the possibility of rejoining the NDA in the future, Munusamy asserted, "Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi are claiming that this is a drama. They are only speaking in such a manner due to the fear they face after we broke ties with BJP." He made it clear that the AIADMK has no intentions of rejoining the NDA and instead plans to establish a new alliance under the leadership of Edapadi K Palanisamy.

The decision to sever ties with the NDA was made during a high-level meeting led by AIADMK chief Palaniswami at the party headquarters in Chennai. The move was met with enthusiasm by AIADMK supporters, who celebrated outside the headquarters. Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy indicated that the national leadership of the BJP would address the situation.

Throughout this development, the ruling DMK party consistently asserted that the AIADMK's decision was merely a political maneuver. This decision followed a meeting between senior AIADMK leaders and BJP chief JP Nadda in New Delhi, where they discussed the political landscape in Tamil Nadu and expressed concerns about the aggressive political approach of BJP's Tamil Nadu chief, K Annamalai. They had sought either an apology from Annamalai for a remark made about Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai or his replacement.