BJP failed to get majority in LS polls because of leaders like Tamil Nadu unit chief Annamalai, says EPS
On the integration of AIADMK factions, Palaniswami reiterated that O Panneerselvam was expelled from the party by passing a resolution in the general council and there is no thought of taking him again.
AIADMK general secretary ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami addressing the media in Coimbatore on Friday.
COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami on Friday said BJP failed to win a majority in the Lok Sabha polls because of its leaders like BJP state president K Annamalai.
In a scathing attack, the AIADMK leader asked what new scheme Annamalai brought for Tamil Nadu from the central government.
“It’s nothing. People are desperate whether Annamalai will deliver his poll promise of 100 developments in 500 days for Coimbatore. Only because of leaders like him, the BJP, which won over 300 seats, had slipped to form an alliance government,” he said to the media in Coimbatore.
Condemning Annamalai for his false campaign that AIADMK would have been pushed to either third or fourth spot, if it had contested in the Vikravandi by polls, Palaniswami said AIADMK didn’t contest as the DMK is raining cash and gifts for voters in Vikravandi. Ten ministers are camping in Vikravandi to bribe voters. How then can the polls be held in a democratic manner?, he asked.
Refuting claims by the BJP leaders that their party has grown in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said, “In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP’s CP Radhakrishnan lost by 42,000 votes in Coimbatore, but in 2024 Annamalai lost by 1.18 lakh votes. The vote share of BJP has dipped by 0.52 per cent,” he said
On the integration of AIADMK factions, Palaniswami reiterated that O Panneerselvam was expelled from the party by passing a resolution in the general council and there is no thought of taking him again.
“Sasikala had even declared during the 2021 assembly polls that she will leave politics and pray for Amma’s golden rule. This is not a corporate company for her to come back after three years,” he said.
Further, Palaniswami said if Sasikala desires for an AIADMK rule in Tamil Nadu, then she should toe the line of Janaki, when AIADMK split into two factions, and she pledged her support for Jayalalithaa to form the government. “Cadres hope Sasikala has the goodwill to take such a decision,” he said.
Claiming that AIADMK will expose the corruption by DMK after forming its government, Palaniswami said sale of illicit arrack continues unabated in Tamil Nadu even after the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy.