AIADMK cadre expect EPS to be vehement in opposing DMK
Citing the example of “One Nation, One Election,” advocated by the BJP, party men wonder whether EPS will speak against this as otherwise it will mean that the Dravidian major is still in cahoots with the BJP.
Edappadi K Palaniswami
VELLORE: After the split with the BJP, AIADMK cadre here are worried and with a reason. Now that the party has come out of the BJP-led alliance, they wonder whether their general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami will function as the main opposition leader as this slot was occupied by BJP state president K Annamalai who was vocal in highlighting the issues of ruling DMK.
“If the party still fails to act as the main opposition and bring to light various shortcomings of the ruling dispensation at both the state and Centre, the public will think that AIADMK is still controlled by the saffron party, which will thus work against the AIADMK during the elections,” said a party senior in Vellore.
Citing the example of “One Nation, One Election,” advocated by the BJP and which was supported by the AIADMK, party men wonder whether EPS will speak against this as otherwise it will mean that the Dravidian major is still in cahoots with the BJP. However, when another cadre was approached on the issue, most seniors shied away from talking to the media due to a gag order issued by EPS at the recent senior party functionaries meet at Chennai.
However, a functionary who spoke on condition of anonymity said “EPS does not accept the “One Nation, One Election” move as could be seen by his recent statement that the AIADMK will face both the 2024 Parliament and 2026 Assembly polls on its own.”
ACS most affected by split: Aide
However, one leader, who was seriously affected by the BJP-AIADMK split, is AC Shanmugam (ACS) of the New Justice Party who planned to contest the Vellore Lok Sabha seat on the BJP symbol.
“To this effect he cleared the decks by appearing on stage at the Vellore meeting some months ago in which Amit Shah participated and gave a clarion call to win 25 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Recently he started conducting medical camps in various locations to ensure that voters remembered his name. But, all that went for a six when the AIADMK left the NDA as ACS was banking on the Dravidian major’s cadre support to win,” the leader’s aide said.