AIADMK will not join hands with BJP, says D Jayakumar

CHENNAI: A day after State BJP leader K Annamalai and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran suggested that the AIADMK should join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to defeat the DMK-led front in the forthcoming 2026 Assembly elections, party spokesperson and senior leader D Jayakumar on Wednesday firmly stated that the party leadership remains resolute in its decision not to align with the BJP.

He also slammed Dhinakaran, asserting that the AIADMK and its leadership would not be servile to the BJP in the way he is.

“There is no alliance with the BJP for the 2026 polls. I am reflecting the views of our party leader and General Secretary (Edappadi K Palaniswami), who has made the party’s stance clear on several occasions,” Jayakumar told the media in response to questions regarding Annamalai and Dhinakaran's calls for the AIADMK to join forces to unseat the ruling DMK regime in the upcoming elections.

Responding to Dhinakaran’s assertion that the AIADMK would only remain steadfast if it aligns with the BJP, Jayakumar said that the AMMK leader had “pledged his self-esteem and surrendered” to the saffron party to avoid pending cases and legal action.

“A person like him, who falls at the feet of the BJP, inviting us to join their alliance, is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the AIADMK is a political movement that thrives on self-respect and has no need to kowtow like the AMMK leader to the BJP or anyone else.

He also criticised Home Minister Amit Shah for his “demeaning remark” against the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, saying, “He was a towering personality and a national leader, who gave us the Constitution. No one should demean such a leader under any circumstances. The people will not accept this, and the BJP will face the consequences for the same.”