Chennai: Even as the Tamil Nadu BJP state president and former IPS officer, K. Annamalai has time and again been making unruly comments against the AIADMK and its leaders, the central leadership of the BJP is keen that the party is in its fold.
The invitation extended to AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) to attend the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting on July 18 at New Delhi is a clear indicator to this. There were reports of the BJP trying to go it alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu.
However, sources in the BJP said that the national leadership had conducted a detailed survey on the prospects of the party and found that without the AIADMK it would not stand a chance to win any seat on its own. It may be noted that for the past five decades, politics in Tamil Nadu revolved around the Dravidian majors, and the Congress, which had once ruled Tamil Nadu, is relegated to political oblivion without the support of a Dravidian major.
If the Congress which had once ruled Tamil Nadu is relegated to a minor party status, then the BJP, which had never got proper recognition in the state, will not be able to do anything without the support of a Dravidian major.
R. Kalayanasundaram, political analyst and retired Professor of Political science from Madurai, said, “The BJP state president was doing political suicide by speaking out against AIADMK as any political student can understand that the only solution to reap benefit in Tamil Nadu is to piggy ride one of the Dravidian majors.
“Fortunately for the BJP, it already has an alliance with the AIADMK, but the unnecessary uttering of its state president was creating problems for its fortunes in the state. The national leadership of the party will be willing to accept the formula of seat sharing pushed forward by the AIADMK and the saffron party will have to be satisfied with the seats the AIADMK offers it.”