Tamil Nadu Assembly elections: BJP shelves plan to bring AMMK into AIADMK alliance

With AIADMK unrelenting in its opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is believed to have shelved its proposal to bring the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by V K Sasikala's nephew T T V Dhinakaran into the alliance led by the Dravidian party.

“It is not happening. It is a closed chapter now,” a source with the knowledge of the developments told DH on Wednesday.

“The discussions between the BJP and AIADMK currently is centred only around the number of seats that the national party gets in the alliance and identifying the constituencies. Sasikala-TTV is not a topic of discussion any more,” the source added.

The BJP, which proposed to AIADMK in January to arrive at an electoral understanding with its splinter group AMMK to prevent split of the core vote bank, has “dumped the plan” due to continued opposition from the leadership of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, especially Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

DH had reported on March 2 that Palaniswami is believed to have told Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during their meeting in Chennai on February 28, that he was not in favour of entertaining Sasikala and Dhinakaran into the party nor in the alliance.

BJP believes AMMK votes will decide the victory in more than 40 constituencies in southern and parts of the central region in Tamil Nadu where the Mukulathors, the caste to which Sasikala and Dhinakaran belong, are in large numbers.

Read: Sasikala quits politics, says she never aspired for any post

“We believe AMMK will split the AIADMK votes in Southern Tamil Nadu. But if AIADMK does not relent and continues to show hesitation in taking them back, the BJP cannot push them beyond a point given the elections are just a month away,” the source added.

The Chief Minister feels inducting Sasikala and Dhinakaran would not augur well for him in the “long-run” especially after the elections.

Meanwhile, AIADMK reiterated that there was “no chance” of re inducting Sasikala and Dhinakaran into the party while asserting that ally BJP will not interfere in the internal affairs of the party.

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, considered the spokesman of the government, told reporters at the AIADMK headquarters that the party has “rejected” suggestions, if there were any, that Sasikala and Dhinakaran be re-inducted into the party or taken into the alliance.

“Chief Minister (Edappadi K Palaniswami) has made it clear that there was no chance of Sasikala and Dhinakaran joining AIADMK. There is no chance. 100 per cent there is no chance. We are firm in our stand,” Jayakumar said.

To a question on whether BJP has moved a proposal before the party to at least consider inducting Dhinakaran's AMMK into the alliance, Jayakumar said the alliance and ideology of the party were two different things. “BJP is our alliance partner. They do not interfere in our internal matters. They never do it and we decide for our party,” he said.

Jayakumar's statement came just minutes after BJP General Secretary C T Ravi maintained that it was for the AIADMK to decide on the Sasikala-Dhinakaran question. “EPS and OPS know the strengths and weaknesses of Sasikala and Dhinakaran. They will take a call,” he said.