AIADMK left NDA due to respecting workers’ sentiments, other factors did not influence this decision, says EPS – Firstpost
Palaniswami said the decision to quit the National Democratic Alliance was taken after party members conveyed to the leadership the sentiments of “two million party workers”.
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday said his party’s decision to withdraw from the BJP-led NDA was out of respect for the sentiments of its workers over the “events” in the state and claimed that no other factors played a role in the severing of ties. .
There was no pressure from the BJP high command, and reports in some media claiming that there were differences between the two over the saffron party’s demand for the number of seats for the polls 2024 in Lok Sabha are false, he said.
He also described the formation of the opposition INDIA alliance as “dramatic”, saying it was a coming together of parties with contrarian views and the bloc was not even taking shape. He cited as an example the AAP, a key part of the INDIA grouping, which published its list of candidates for the year-end legislative elections in Madhya Pradesh, where traditional rivals the Congress and the BJP face each other.
Recalling the September 25 meeting of senior leaders in which the AIADMK unanimously decided to bid farewell to the BJP and lead its own group in 2024, Palaniswami said the decision to withdraw from the National Alliance democratic had been taken after party members expressed the sentiments of “two crore party workers” to the leadership.
“The events that happened here have hurt our party activists. A party member must work for the success and welfare of a party and our decision is respectful of the sentiments of the party members,” the AIADMK general secretary said.
A war of words with former ally BJP over its state chief K Annamalai’s comments about Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai led the AIADMK to quit the NDA.
Palaniswami claimed there was “no pressure” from top BJP leaders – whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah or national leader of the party JP Nadda. He also insisted that the AIADMK was not demanding replacement of Annamalai.
To DMK asserting that the severing of ties between the AIADMK and the BJP was a tragedy, Palaniswami retorted that “the INDIA alliance is a tragedy”.
“The Arvind Kerjiwal-led AAP has announced its candidates for the Madhya Pradesh elections…parties with divergent views have joined the alliance. It hasn’t taken shape,” he said.
“TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says there is no understanding with communists there in Kerala, Chief Minister (Pinarayi Vijayan) says we ( CPI-M) let us not join the Congress. This is the case of AAP-ruled Punjab and Delhi,” he said.
The constituents of the INDIA alliance include the Congress, the Left parties, the DMK and the AAP.
Palaniswami expressed confidence about forming a “grand alliance” led by the AIADMK and winning the 2024 elections as well as the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
He attacked the MK Stalin-led DMK government on a number of issues, including the ongoing Cauvery-Karnataka conflict.
On the meeting of some AIADMK MPs with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Coimbatore on Tuesday, he said they were just doing their job as elected representatives and were approaching with her issues, including the welfare of coconut farmers.
The party has taken a “firm” decision not to enter into an alliance with the BJP, he added.
firstpost
