A Churning In The Offing In Tamil Nadu NDA

The recent visit to the State by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman is said to have prompted Amit Shah to convene the State leaders to New Delhi after she reported to the high command that the State unit of BJP had not geared up to face the Assembly elections and the alliance with other parties had not been cemented.

Since a fear of many of the disillusioned AIADMK splinter groups, led by leaders like O Panneerselvam and T T V Dinakaran, and smaller parties like the DMDK drifting towards the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of Vijay loomed large with the BJP depending more on the AIADMK and neglecting smaller parties and groups, top leaders of the BJP felt the need address the crisis.

To add to the BJP's fears, Dinakaran who heads the splinter group Amma Munnetra Kazhagam also announced his party severing links with the NDA and alleging widespread 'betrayal' on Wednesday.

Also, the perceptible rift with the State unit of the BJP due to groupism had prompted Amit Shah to call for the meeting and tell the top leaders to stay united and also strengthen the party infrastructure before the elections.

Though the AIADMK remained united under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is blazing a trail across the State with his campaign tour, at one level, murmurs had begun with some senior leaders starting to talk about unity once again.

A senior leader and former Minister, who is an advocate of party unity, recently announcing that he would come out with a decision on the party’s future plans on September 5 at Erode had created ripples within the party.

Since the call for unity means that ousted leaders like V K Sasikala, T T V Dinakaran and O Panneerselvam should be readmitted into the party, Sengottaiyan is expected to issue a warning to Palanswami.

Though there was a speculation earlier that the groups that were refused to be entertained by Palaniswami would forge direct links with the BJP and remain part of the NDA, it is now feared that they could be looking up to the TVK for a partnership in the polls as Palaniswami is firm on not letting them in.

The fears gained strength after leaders like Dinakaran and DMDK’s Premalatha refused to commit to the alliance now and wanted time till the elections were announced, prompting the BJP to not wait and watch, allowing things unfold as they might but intervene and change the course. Now that Dinakaran has left the NDA, there could be a churning in the alliance.

While Palaniswami is not keen on luring back the disgruntled elements who might now switch loyalties, the BJP feels that every leader mattered in electoral politics. So with the DMK alliance remaining united with the various parties showing no inclination to move away and the AIADMK refusing to take in splinter groups, the NDA seems to be in a quandary in finding new allies.

Also, the latest move by Vijay to proclaim C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran as his guiding lights by recalling their feats in changing the political history of the State in 1967 and 1977 respectively has given the jitters to some AIADMK leaders, who fear that their voters might change loyalties enamored by Vijay’s ambition to bring in another change in the State’s political scene like Annadurai and MGR.