No BJP govt in 1998 without AIADMK support: Minister

In the public meeting held for celebrating the 101st birth anniversary of former chief minister MG Ramachandran, Raju said that many people in Tamil Nadu, who had started their party, had disappeared in a shorter span of time. However, the AIADMK had been living in the hearts of the people for more than 30 years.

Recalling the earlier incidents, Raju said that when MGR came out of the DMK in 1971, DMK leader M Karunanidhi said that the movie star would not last for 100 days, but later ADMK won the Dindigul by-election. Till his death, he remained as CM for 11 years and won thrice.

After the death of MGR, former chief minister J Jayalalithaa carried forward his legacy and implemented various schemes. AIADMK became a national party under Jayalalithaa and won 37 seats without any coalition. Even the BJP and the Congress cannot, he added.

Similarly, in 1998, when the BJP was called a communal party, Jayalalithaa supported the BJP for the sake of former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee. But for the AIADMK, the BJP would not have come to power at the Centre then, he noted.