Stating that it was only because of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained popularity in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palanisamy said on Saturday, April 13, that the BJP can’t take over the AIADMK. Palaniswamy, popularly known as EPS, was responding to a statement made by BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, that the AIADMK will come back under the right leadership on June 4 — when the Lok Sabha election results are scheduled to be announced.
Meanwhile, in the wake of EPS’ tough stand on the BJP, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has now announced an alliance with the AIADMK.
Owaisi said they arrived at the decision to be allies after the AIADMK refused to ally with BJP and has committed to never allying with it in the future. He said the Dravidian party has also promised to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NRP), and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Therefore, AIMIM extends its support to AIADMK in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Our alliance will also continue for the Assembly elections,” Owaisi said.
Other notable parties who are in alliance with the AIADMK include the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), founded by the late actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), and the Puthiya Thamizhagam.
The AIADMK was a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) until September 2023 and has so far not opposed the CAA or the NRC in the Parliament. The trigger for their exit from the NDA was a culmination of fights with Annamalai. The final stroke was a controversial remark made by Annamalai at a protest rally in Chennai.
At the rally, the BJP leader had alleged that Dravidian icon CN Annadurai — who founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which later split to form AIADMK — made a critical remark against the Hindu faith at an event in Madurai in the 1950s. Annamalai further claimed that noted freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar questioned Annadurai for speaking ill of goddess Umaiyaval, and that the former CM “went into hiding” in Madurai because Muthuramalinga Thevar was angry.
Several AIADMK leaders came to the fore in response, stating that there was no evidence to backup Annamalai’s claims.
Previously in 2023, Annamalai had also insinuated that the tenure under former CM and AIADMK stalwart Jayalalithaa was one of the most corrupt in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK subsequently adopted a resolution against Annamalai, calling him “politically immature and inexperienced.”