Election fallout: What’s happening in AIADMK-BJP alliance?

Amidst reports that there is a rift in the AIADMK-BJP alliance after it managed to win just one seat in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has sought to play it down by claiming that “all is well” between the partners.

“We (AIADMK) still have an alliance with them (BJP). There is no change. Why is the media trying to create confusion on this?” was his reply when journalists wanted to know his comments on the “bitter relations” between the AIADMK and BJP post the poll debacle.

Palaniswami, the joint coordinator of the AIADMK, claimed that the vote share of his party had decreased in the LS polls because it contested in limited constituencies. Hitting out at the DMK-Congress alliance for making “false and impractical” promises, he said the DMK-led combine winning 37 out of 38 Lok Sabha seats in the State was not “true victory”.

For its part, AIADMK mouthpiece Namathu Amma has alleged that efforts were being made to create a rift in the party’s alliance with the BJP, but indicated the two parties were ideologically-inclined beyond mere friendship.

“Though the AIADMK-BJP alliance for the Lok Sabha polls was an extension of friendship, the two speak in one voice on primary intent like patriotism and worship of God,” it said.

Slamming efforts by a section of  the “family-owned media” to “create a rift between the leaf and flower” (while the AIADMK’s symbol is the ‘two leaves’, that of the BJP is ‘lotus’), it said the friendship between the high command of the two parties, beyond politics, was “unblemished”.

According to Namadhu Amma, the AIADMK-BJP alliance winning the lone Theni Lok Sabha seat and the ruling party emerging victorious in nine of the 22 Assembly seats where by-polls were held in April was a “public evaluation” of the combine.

“This evaluation is being accepted wholeheartedly to take efforts to ensure a better performance for the alliance in the future,” it added.

However, in another article, Namadhu Amma took potshots at Thuglak, a magazine edited by S Gurumurthy, perceived to be close to the BJP high command. The reason – Thuglak published a cartoon indicating that the AIADMK was keen to get a berth in the Union Cabinet but was denied it by the BJP high command.

Alleging that the standards of Thuglak stooped so low after the death of its founder-editor Cho Ramaswamy, Namadhu Amma said the AIADMK never begged for any posts in the Centre.

In another development, the core committee of BJP’s Tamilnadu unit held a meeting at its headquarters Kamalalayam in Chennai Thursday, to introspect on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections and the party’s stand in the upcoming civic polls.

Chaired by national general secretary Muralidhar Rao, various issues like the BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK were discussed at the meet, sources say.

As of now, sources in the AIADMK and BJP indicate that the alliance would continue for the local body elections.