Former Law Minister and one of the senior leaders in the AIADMK C Ve Shanmugam has said the party’s decision to ally with the BJP was the key reason behind its loss in the RE recently concluded Assembly polls.
Speaking in Villupuram today, Shanmugam said the electorate harbored no hate against the AIADMK, but they disapproved of the pact with the BJP.
“Because of that alliance, we lost minority votes completely…”
Former Law Minister and AIADMK leader C. Ve. Shanmugam breaks the silence of the BJP-AIADMK alliance. “The alliance with BJP led to AIADMK’s loss in Assembly poll. The people harbored no hate against AIADMK, they disapproved of the alliance,” he said.
Shanmugam has voiced what was the prevailing thought among a section of the AIADMK, although the leading combine—Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam—have stayed away from going into the reasons for the complete reversal of fortunes of the AIADMK.
The party had won a clear majority in the 2016 Assembly polls, the election that Jayalalithaa had overseen just months before she fell seriously ill in September that year.
After months of tumult, the AIADMK had steadied itself in support of the dual leadership present today. Palaniswami holds the reins of the government while Panneerselvam manages party affairs; nevertheless, the BJP’s obvious preference for the former often puts the latter on edge: alliance talks were brokered by SP Velumani and P Thangamani, politicians with a clear allegiance to Palaniswami.
The BJP’s entry in the alliance pacts and subsequent win of four seats in the state Assembly marks the definitive entry of the BJP style of politics in a state that has seen only the Dravidian brand for five decades now. It remains to be seen if the BJP can build from its current status in Tamil Nadu.
