AIADMK invites applications from ticket seekers, still undecided on ties with BJP

On January 28, Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan, in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the dais, read out the names of 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, which the “BJP would win” in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, leaving the saffron cadres ecstatic. Her statement came minutes after Modi shared stage with the AIADMK leaders to lay the foundation stone for the AIIMS at Madurai. But two days after the BJP expressed confidence of making an impressive show in the state by making a poll alliance, the ruling AIADMK camp doesn’t seem to be looking at the national party as a formidable partner. 

The AIADMK on Wednesday invited applications from its party members who are willing to contest in all the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies—39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The application forms for the same will be available in the party office, said a  statement jointly issued by party coordinator O. Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami. “The filled applications can be submitted in the party office from February 4 to 10 by paying Rs 25,000,” it said. The announcement has come days after the AIADMK seniors were on the horns of a big dilemma over the BJP’s push for an alliance in the state for the Lok Sabha polls. 

It is a fact that the AIADMK, under former chief minister Jayalalithaa, had always been ahead when it comes to blowing the poll bugle. However, the recent developments in the party and the emerging fissures among its senior leaders make it clear that the Dravidian major wants to send a message to the political parties that are trying to woo it ahead of the general elections. Reacting to RSS ideologue S. Gurumurthy’s comments on the BJP allying with the AIADMK, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai said: “It is not our duty to nurture the BJP in Tamil Nadu. We will not carry any other party on our back for it to gain foothold in the state.” However, the AIADMK distanced itself from his comments saying they are “his own”. 

The AIADMK disowning Tambidurai’s comments is an indication of the widening fissures within the party over getting into an alliance with the BJP. Sources say that there is a huge resentment among the AIADMK seniors and district secretaries over the party aligning with the BJP. They feel the AIADMK will lose its core vote bank if it goes with the BJP.

Meanwhile, senior AIADMK leader V. Maithreyan, who once stood by O. Panneerselvam when he revolted against the party, in a Facebook post, expressed his anguish for not being taken on board in any of the committees appointed by the party high command. The AIADMK on January 23 constituted a five-member committee to hold talks on seat sharing with alliance partners, an election manifesto preparation committee and an election campaign coordination committee.

Even though forming such committees was common under Jayalalithaa, party insiders feel this is an indication towards the party cadres that the high command is not for an alliance with the BJP. “The situation has changed now. The political situation is not the same as it was under our Amma. This is to send a message to the party workers that we have still not decided on any alliance,” a senior AIADMK leader told THE WEEK.