BJP may ally with smaller parties like in 2014, opine analysts

CHENNAI: In a move that may take the BJP back to 2014, K Annamalai-led state party unit is likely to face the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by forming an alliance with other parties, if the alliance with the AIADMK breaks.

Immediately after taking charge as Tamil Nadu BJP president in 2021, Annamalai had said that his primary task would be to develop the BJP in Tamil Nadu and put it on the throne.

To prove it, the Annamalai-led BJP fielded its own candidates in the 2022 urban local body polls after stepping away from the AIADMK alliance that had been lasting since 2019 and registered a significant victory, increasing its vote bank.

After that, Annamalai announced that he would support the AIADMK in the 2023 Erode East by-election, even though the BJP-AIADMK alliance continued with disagreements.

Reliable sources with Kamalalayam - state BJP headquarters - say that Annamalai is ready to form a mega alliance under his leadership and defeat the DMK.

He is betting on his ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ yatra and he believes it being widely accepted by the people of Tamil Nadu.

“AIADMK’s Jayakumar has announced that there is no alliance with the BJP. Now, there is a high chance of forming a new alliance under the state BJP with the PMK, DMDK, AMMK, Puthiya Thamilagam, TMMK, Puthiya Needhi Katchi and former chief minister O Panneerselvam. The BJP will also officially announce a new stand on its mega alliance after AIADMK’s official call on the alliance,” sources added.

Affirming this, Annamalai said in Pollachi that he was prepared as an individual to stand against some people and take a new stand.

“This is a challenging time. We have opposed so many people. Let’s see this too. After seeing people’s trust, if I don’t carry out some work as the head of the state unit, I will become a person unworthy of your (cadre and public) trust. We have to stand against some people and take some new stands. I am confident that the BJP will also be ready. This is a tool for political change,” he noted.

Priyan, a senior journalist, who criticised the AIADMK’s actions regarding the alliance as immature, said that if the AIADMK breaks the alliance with the BJP, there are more chances for the BJP to form a separate alliance.

“AIADMK needs BJP and BJP needs AIADMK, so if this alliance breaks it will be a setback for both parties. Meanwhile, if the AIADMK pulls out, the BJP is also more likely to form a separate alliance. But, the chances of that alliance succeeding are slim,” he opined.

Speaking to DT Next, BJP state vice president VP Duraisamy said, “BJP did not break the alliance with AIADMK. Jayakumar spoke emotionally. On both sides, if we continue to talk, the alliance will be reunited again. But, with the elections still six months away, anything can happen in politics.”