Defection no bar, AIADMK-BJP ties will continue for LS polls: Leaders

CHENNAI:  Even as more IT wing functionaries of BJP left the party to join AIADMK on Wednesday, two senior functionaries of BJP and AIADMK - Vanathi Srinivasan and D Jayakumar said the alliance between the two parties will continue. While Vanathi Srinivasan said such wordy duel among certain functionaries will not affect the ties, Jayakumar said BJP state president K Annamalai and AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami have already clarified that the alliance would continue for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In Coimbatore, while answering queries on the developments,  Vanathi Srinivasan said, “A key office bearer of the BJP has joined the AIADMK just after levelling allegations against state president K Annamalai. It is an unpleasant situation and certain unfortunate events have taken place. This has caused discontent among the BJP leaders and there has been exchange of views on both sides. Despite this, I am confident that this won’t affect the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu in any way.”

Responding to a question, she said the constitution of the NDA and the alliance partners are decided by the party’s national leadership. “In the coming days, there could be developments that would heal the wounds. These developments need not be perceived as the ones that would weaken the NDA in TN,” she added. 

In Chennai, AIADMK organising secretary D Jayakumar said Palaniswami and Annamalai have already clarified that the alliance between the parties would continue for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, Jayakumar condemned the burning of EPS in effigy by BJP cadre and demanded that the party should initiate action against them. He also said Annamalai equating himself with late leader J Jayalalithaa cannot be accepted.   

“No one has the capacity to equate oneself with Amma in terms of her personality,” he added. Meanwhile, for the third consecutive day, more BJP functionaries, particularly from the IT wing, left the party and they are most likely to join AIADMK. As many as 12 functionaries from the IT and Social Media wing of the Chennai West district of the BJP led by its president Orathi Anbarasu resigned from their party posts on Wednesday. Initially, 13 functionaries signed the statement on resigning from their posts.

However, within a couple of hours, RK Saravanan, Chennai west district vice president of the IT wing, said he was forced to sign the statement and that he will continue in the BJP. “We have decided to follow the path shown by our leader CTR Nirmal Kumar,” Anbarasu told TNIE.  Asked about the reasons for leaving the party, Anbarasu said he didn’t want to say anything because the reasons would be out in due course.  Meanwhile, Gomathi, deputy president of OBC wing of BJP’s Thoothukudi north district joined AIADMK in the presence of ex-minister Kadambur Raju.