Why are AIADMK leaders attacking BJP now?

The AIADMK has been battling accusations of being 'ineffective' as the prime Opposition party and for having ceded the space to the BJP

When senior AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan accused ally BJP of trying to grow at its expense in Tamil Nadu, understandably there was no protest or opposition from the Dravidian party.

In fact, party leaders were happy that someone as senior as Ponnaiyan finally spoke the “uncomfortable truth”, thereby sending a message to the leadership that it has to be more “proactive” in performing the role of the principal Opposition.

The AIADMK has been battling accusations of being “ineffective” in its role as the prime Opposition party and for having ceded the space to the BJP, which has an aggressive state unit chief in ex-IPS officer K Annamalai, ever since the party lost power in Tamil Nadu in the 2021 assembly polls. Successive defeats in the local body polls and the leadership confining itself to issuing statements rather than taking to the stress led to an impression among the cadre that the party wasn’t serious about taking on the DMK regime and is allowing the BJP to grow, insiders told DH.

Read | Annamalai might be expecting a post from BJP, says AIADMK leader

Though in an alliance with the AIADMK, the BJP is ambitious and is projecting itself as the principal Opposition party outside the assembly – leaders of the saffron party have taken pride in criticizing the regional outfit on this count. From organizing protests on the alleged conversion row to attempting to lay a siege to the Secretariat, the BJP is taking on the DMK like never before, which probably led to Ponnaiyan asking IT wing cadre to reinforce the fact that AIADMK was the “real Opposition.”

While party coordinator O Panneerselvam was soft on BJP by terming Ponnaiyan’s statement as his personal view, joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami and Sellur K Raju, an influential leader from Madurai, tore into the saffron party for accusing it of not playing the role of the Opposition.

After the strong statements from the AIADMK, the BJP has also softened the criticism of its senior ally in the state. A senior AIADMK leader told DH on the condition of anonymity that Ponnaiyan’s statement reflected the “truth” and the leadership should take a cue from it and show the “BJP its place in Tamil Nadu.”

“At the same event where Ponnaiyan spoke in explicit terms, leaders who spoke before him also touched on the BJP subject but in a soft way. A few leaders said the party should think why minorities didn’t vote for AIADMK pointing fingers at the BJP. But Ponnaiyan didn’t mince words. He reflected the sentiments prevailing in the party,” the leader added.

While no one seems to have a doubt on the alliance with BJP at least until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK leaders stress on the need to chart a new strategy at the state-level. “BJP is trying to project itself as the prime challenger to DMK and this narrative has to be busted. Tamil Nadu politics is still bipolar (between DMK and AIADMK) and this message has to be delivered both to the cadre and to people at large,” another leader said.

Senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh said the AIADMK is under compulsion to distance itself from the BJP to send a message to its cadre that they remain the pivotal anti-DMK force in Tamil Nadu.

“The AIADMK has no option now. They have to raise their voice to keep their flock together and to demonstrate their relevance as the BJP is attempting to grab the cadre base. While (J) Jayalalithaa had the courage to take on the BJP, the current leadership was dependent on BJP for their survival while in power. They were termed as BJP’s B-team, but now they have to make noise as BJP’s strategy is very clear,” he told DH.