Ahead of Tamil Nadu polls, AIADMK flexing muscles against ally BJP

With elections round the corner in Tamil Nadu, the political dynamics are apparently changing in the state. The All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) seems to be coming out of the popular perception of its timidity towards the national ally, BJP. The party is making shrewd moves, preparing itself for the upcoming elections in May 2021 and has not shied away from dragging a couple of big heads from other parties including its 'ally' BJP much to the national party's despair.

Chennai: With assembly elections round the horizon, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) appears to be shedding its widely perceived timidity and flexing its muscles against its national ally, the BJP. As the polls are expected before May 2021, not only political parties are gearing up for the contest, those sulking and those looking for greener pastures have started switching sides.

The AIADMK is not lagging behind other parties in this game and is making shrewd moves. The party has succeeded in netting a couple of big fishes even from the saffron stable, much to the chagrin of its national ally. Well, is this indicative of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) signaling the BJP, its place in the political landscape of the Dravidian heartland.

Even an epidemic is no deterrent for political activity and for our netas to switch sides in search of greener pastures for better prospects. Tamil Nadu is no exception to this that too when elections are not far off. With assembly polls due next year, political parties have started their work in earnest, albeit silently without much fanfare. And the first phase is poaching potential local satraps and functionaries from other parties, not necessarily from rival parties but from allies too.

In this game, expected to continue till the next 10 months when the Election Commission announces the poll schedule, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has left the AIADMK’s national ally, the BJP left gasping for breath by inducting a few from the saffron brigade into the Dravidian major. Not only that, but he had also warned the BJP to rein in recalcitrant elements in its ranks, which shows that all is not well in the alliance.

With a well-oiled election machine, the ruling party has hit the ground initially with a membership drive and carrying out a social media campaign besides positioning itself to receive those deserting other parties.

AIADMK-BJP Rift Wide Open

The AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election proved to be a disaster with the party managing to win a lone seat while the saffron party received a drubbing by drawing a blank. Ever since there has been rumbling within the AIADMK over the electoral utility of aligning with the BJP. Party seniors have been very vocal in squarely blaming the BJP for the debacle and even pressed for snapping the ties. However, political compulsions have kept the alliance going.

Differences between the two parties came to the fore in the aftermath of the elections to the local bodies held last year. The BJP was sore over it being treated shabbily by the AIADMK in seat allocation and non-cooperation at the local level.

Now, ahead of the Assembly elections, the process of party hopping by fence-sitters and disgruntled ones has gained momentum. Early this week, BJP National Executive member Arcot R Srinivasan called on EPS and joined the AIADMK. Only the other day, he was sharing the dais with BJP state president L Murugan! This has not gone down well with the local BJP leadership which is miffed at the AIADMK poaching its functionaries.

The BJP in Tamil Nadu too has raised the decibels against the AIADMK Government which is not relished by the Dravidian major. Reports of some AIADMK functionaries waiting to latch on to the BJP bandwagon has become a source of friction between the two parties.

Recalcitrant Elements

Even as the two parties are engaged in a war of words, film comedian of yesteryears, S Ve Shekhar, a popular face of the saffron brigade, invited the wrath of the AIADMK with a tweet suggesting that the Dravidian major could hope to retain power only if it jettisoned Dravidian stalwart and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai called as Anna from the party’s name. It is ironic that the party is christened after Anna and the party flag carries his image. No wonder, the preposterous tweet has enraged the AIADMK with Tamil Nadu fisheries minister D Jayakumar chastising Shekhar as a ‘shameless creature’.

Going a step further, EPS taunted the comedian by asking “Who is he? Where was he during the Lok Sabha election campaign?”

Further, the Chief Minister said it was not unusual for Shekhar to say something and go into hiding fearing prosecution. “He was found useless and shown the door in the AIADMK by ‘Amma’ (Jayalalithaa) who made him an MLA,” EPS said, castigating him.

When Shekhar warns the AIADMK leadership saying, “your file is in our hands”, the response of the AIADMK is seen as something significant and politically loaded.

BJP Miffed at Desertions

Of late, the BJP has been rattled by desertions in its ranks. Apart from Srinivasan, a former MLA, who made a homecoming to AIADMK, BJP state general secretary SK Vedharathinam, a former MLA and a strongman in Vedaranyam, had quit the party and returned to the DMK. Similarly, party state vice-president BT Arasakumar too had joined the DMK. BJP Nagapattinam district secretary Amirtha Vijayakumar has switched over to the DMK.

If this was not enough, party strongman and former Tamil Nadu Minister Nainar Nagendran has openly expressed his disappointment at being denied the state party chief’s post.

For its part, the BJP has succeeded into weaning away a sitting DMK legislator K Selvam, who had an audience with BJP national president JP Nadda in the national capital. Though his induction into the saffron brotherhood is yet to be formalised, he is sporting a saffron towel and on his return from Delhi, he had gone straight to the BJP headquarters in Chennai. Only now, he has discovered that the DMK also has fallen prey to dynastic politics.

Hindi and Three-Language Formula?

Recently, the AIADMK government has reiterated that Tamil Nadu will never accept the three language formula proposed in the New Education Policy (NEP). EPS was emphatic in rejecting it as an attempt to impose Hindi, thereby remaining faithful to the core Dravidian ideology of language pluralism and adherence to the two language – English and Mother Tongue – formula. Further, the government has constituted a panel to study the NEP.

With both the AIADMK and the BJP appearing to wash the dirty linen in the public, it becomes evident that the differences are only getting sharper. The AIADMK is not prepared to play ball with the BJP and cede political ground to the saffron party. It shows that there is a rethink in the Dravidian major’s attitude towards its national ally.

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