Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai.
Credit: Twitter/annamalai_k
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Thursday said there was no problem between his party and the AIADMK and that the “common thread” between the two parties is the candidature of Narendra Modi for Prime Ministership in 2024.
His comments come three days after AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said the BJP was not part of the alliance led by it, amid a war of words between the two parties on a host of issues. “If you ask me if there is a problem between the BJP and AIADMK, I don’t think so. If you ask me there is a problem between some AIADMK leaders and Annamalai, I am not sure,” the state BJP chief told reporters in Coimbatore.
Annamalai said the friction between AIADMK and BJP is “quite common” as the two parties don’t share a common ideology and the only thread that connects them was Narendra Modi. While referring to AIADMK leaders' statement “Modi for Delhi, and Edappadi K Palaniswami for Tamil Nadu”, Annamalai said he cannot accept that because he came to the state with a specific mandate to grow the BJP and bring it to power.
“How can I say that? I am here to bring BJP to power. I am not a seasoned politician, and the BJP knew this when they appointed me as the state unit chief. They knew the risk they were taking. I am not here to endorse any other party. I will grow my party and I can assure you that we don’t aim to grow at the cost of another party,” Annamalai said.
He added that there was “ample space” for a third party to grow in Tamil Nadu as the vote share of two Dravidian parties’ combined is about 65 per cent. “There is 35 percent of voters who don’t vote for the two parties. We are trying to reach out to them,” Annamalai said, adding that he is a “rebel” and he will continue to adopt the “aggressive approach.”
To a question, Annamalai said any party that accepts Modi as the PM candidate for 2024 polls will be an ally of the BJP.
Though he made it clear that there was no “problem” between AIADMK and BJP, Annamalai refused to withdraw his comments that Dravidian legend C N Annadurai did apologise for his “anti-Hindu” comments in 1956 after freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar took objection to it.
Annamalai’s statement on Annadurai was the reason for the latest friction between BJP and AIADMK. In his response on Thursday, the former IPS officer said he never spoke ill of Annadurai but merely stated facts from an incident that took place in 1956.
“There is no question of apologising because I just stated facts. There are several people who have recorded this incident. I never spoke ill of Annadurai. I have praised him several times,” he added.