Will ally with like-minded non-BJP parties to unseat DMK, EPS clears air

COIMBATORE: AIADMK general secretary ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami on Thursday cleared the air over alliance with BJP saying that his open call for alliance is towards like-minded parties other than the saffron party.

Addressing the media in Krishnagiri, the Leader of the Opposition reiterated that there will be no truck with BJP for the 2026 Assembly polls. “We will join hands with parties other than BJP to unseat the anti-people DMK,” he said.

The Leader of the Opposition was confident of the party’s performance in the Assembly polls saying AIADMK enjoys the goodwill of people because of welfare schemes implemented while in power.

“People know our attitude to serve (people) and (they) will never boycott us. We have also proved our popularity among people several times. Our party has secured a higher vote share in the Lok Sabha polls as compared to previous polls, but the vote per cent declined for DMK,” he said.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK leader condemned the State government for engaging students from agriculture colleges to carry out digital crop surveys.

“Even though the central government has allocated funds for the purpose, the State government has deployed students, who lack the required skill. Students have suffered from snake bites and insect attacks during the survey. The government should take full responsibility if anything happens to students. These works could be executed either through a contractor or by the revenue department,” he said.

Condemning the attack on a doctor at Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital (KCSSH) in Guindy, Palaniswami said the State government should take measures to prevent such attacks on doctors. He also attacked Stalin for not implementing any schemes and has been inaugurating only projects brought by the previous AIADMK regime.