TN Assembly polls: Prakash Javadekar refuses to endorse EPS as NDA’s CM candidate

CHENNAI: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday skipped repeated questions from reporters on whether the BJP has accepted Edappadi K Palaniswami as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the NDA in Tamil Nadu for the 2021 Assembly elections.

At a press conference here, Javadekar didn't answer repeated questions whether BJP will accept its ally AIADMK naming Palaniswami as the CM candidate. Instead, he said the reporters have the freedom to interpret his stance. “You (reporters) have the freedom to say - I have refused to answer or I am silent...”

When a scribe pointed out that though the AIADMK has already confirmed its alliance with the BJP the state BJP leaders have been maintaining that only the party high command would be deciding on this, Javadekar said, “Yes. The State leaders are correct. But you see the presence of AIADMK's Rajya Sabha MP, A Navaneethakrishnan here is important."

On the perception that the BJP is depending on the AIADMK, he said in coalition politics anywhere, one party complemented the other and parties depended on each other. Asked on 'talk' that Rajinikanth was the 'B' team of the BJP, he said, "I will not go into diversions." 

When asked why his party leaders started talking about late AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran only recently, the Minister said it was not correct. Icons of Tamil Nadu were always being remembered by his party and "this time you have noticed," he said.