Natural for political parties to seek alliance with AIADMK, says EPS

CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), said on Wednesday that it was natural for political parties in the state to seek an alliance with his party as it was a strong political force having been in power for over 30 years.

On Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's remarks that AIADMK's reputation had declined in the state, Palaniswami told party workers at Vanavasi in Mettur Taluk that the vote share of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had decreased in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while AIADMK had made gains.

He noted that, in the Lok Sabha elections for the Namakkal seat, the AIADMK candidate lost by 3,00,000 votes in 2019 but narrowed the margin to 30,000 votes in 2024, demonstrating the party's growing support.

EPS added that AIADMK's vote share increased by 1 per cent in the 2024 elections compared to 2019, while DMK's vote share dropped from 33.92 per cent in 2019 to 26.50 per cent in 2024, a decline of 7 per cent.

Palaniswami also responded to CM Stalin's allegations that AIADMK had done nothing for the people of Tamil Nadu, calling the former's statements blatant lies.

He recalled the Rs 562 crore scheme initiated by the AIADMK government to divert surplus water from Mettur to refill 100 water bodies in Salem district.

He claimed that this project, which was supposed to be completed within 12 months, has been stalled by the DMK for the past 41 months.

Additionally, EPS criticised the DMK government for borrowing Rs 3.5 lakh crore in just three and a half years, despite a revenue increase of Rs 56,000 crore.

He contrasted this with the AIADMK government's efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that despite facing a revenue loss of Rs 1 lakh crore, his government implemented various schemes, while the DMK has failed to deliver on its promises since coming to power.

Palaniswami highlighted the rising costs of essential commodities under the DMK regime, stating that people are now struggling with inflation and that even the construction of homes has become more difficult compared to the AIADMK's tenure when prices were under control.