EPS calls for meeting on Monday, cadres expect him to put end to dilemma on ties with BJP

CHENNAI: Days after declaring that there is no alliance with the BJP as of now, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami called on for a meeting with senior party functionaries, including party MPs and MLAS, on Monday at party headquarters in Chennai.

Palaniswami, in a statement, asked all the district secretaries, party MPs, MLAs and headquarters' functionaries to attend the meeting without fail.

The meeting is scheduled to commence at 3.45 pm.

It heightened anticipation among the rank and files of the AIADMK party in the prevailing tense political climate. The meeting is being convened on the heels of Delhi trip of Palaniswami’s close confidants and former ministers S P Vellumani, P Thangamani and three other senior leaders K P Munusamy, Natham R Viswanathan and C Ve Shanmugam.

They were tasked to meet BJP’s top leaders Amit Shah and J P Nadda to make their stand clear and push for their demand to put their state unit in order to better prospects in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Though they were unable to meet Shah, they called on Nadda and Piyush Goyal to pass on the information from EPS.

Meanwhile, party spokesperson D Jayakumar on Sunday reiterated that the party maintains its stand on alliance with the BJP. “There is no alliance with the BJP,” Jayakumar said categorically and hit back at state BJP chief K Annamalai that the AIADMK functionaries were not scared of raids.

“Our leader conveyed the party’s stand through the second level leader (D Jayakumar) on September 18 to send across a message to BJP’s top leaders following the disparaging statement of Annamalai on leaders like C N Annadurai. We are expecting that the GS would put an end to the speculations (in the media) and the dilemma among the functionaries after hearing the views of the district secretaries and senior leaders in the Monday meeting,” said the Coimbatore based party functionary, preferring anonymity.

AIADMK is the cadres' based party. So, the party leader would gauge the mindset of the cadres by talking to the district secretaries and take a call on electoral ties with the BJP.

“We expect a clear message by Monday evening,” said another functionary. He, however, admitted that the secondary level leaders were divided on the ties with the BJP. While a section wanted the leadership to maintain a cordial relationship for many reasons, another section of the leaders insisted the leadership to end the ties with the saffron party to regain its legacy and lost vote banks among minorities.