Minor NDA partners wish Two Leaves, Lotus stay together to withstand Rising Sun’s heat

CHENNAI: With the limited scope of AIADMK and BJP coming together and the time for parliamentary polls fast approaching, the minor partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are left with no choice but to maintain a safe distance between the two parties.

However, they wish the Two-Leaves and the Lotus to remain together and not wither away under the heat of the DMK’s Rising Sun in the State as the Lok Sabha polls are fast approaching. Since officially declaring its decision to end ties with the BJP and exiting the NDA on September 25, the AIADMK is going the extra mile to win back the lost trust among minorities, particularly the Muslim community.

General Secretary of the AIADMK Edappadi K Palaniswami reiterated that no more ties with the BJP and asked the party’s senior leaders to reach out to the minorities.

Meanwhile, the Dravidian major switched to election mode by taking up a State-wide exercise to bolster the booth-level committees and strengthen the youth and women wings from booth level to flex the party’s organisation strength. On the other hand, the BJP Tamil Nadu unit maintains silence over the alliance, and its State leader is busy with the ‘En Mann En Makkal’ yatra. This left the constituents, the minor partners, of the NDA that remained together in unsuccessful campaigns in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and the Assembly polls in 2021 in uncertainty.

Knowing the vote bank of the national ally, the BJP, the best bet for small parties is to go with the AIADMK to face the DMK-led formidable front. Sensing this, TMC (M) leader GK Vasan said he was neither in the AIADMK nor in the BJP front to keep his option open. Puthiya Tamilagam’s leader K Krishnasamy is hoping against the hope that both the leading parties at the region and national level should bury the hatchet and come together for better results. Founder and president of Puthiya Neethi Katchi AC Shanmugam, though gravitating towards the saffron party, wanted the BJP and the AIADMK on the same front.

While the DMDK faded away gradually in the political landscape following the deterioration of the health of its leader Vijayakanth, PMK, the other key player in the alliance, declared that it was not part of NDA in Tamil Nadu.

In midst of political drama in NDA, after AIADMK deserted it, TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK and expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam could change the dynamics of the alliance.

However, it would not benefit PMK and its leader Anbumani Ramadoss electorally in the polls. And the best bet for the PMK is to go with the AIADMK as it will complement each other in western and northern districts.

“Going alone will not benefit anyone. The AIADMK and former allies should keep away their differences and unite for a better outcome in the LS polls against the DMK front,’’ deputy general secretary of DMDK B Parathasarathy said. He continued that their party leader and party general council take a call on an alliance in the next few weeks. Political observer and senior journalist Tharasu Shyam opined that the PMK is a vital cog in shaping an alliance. If it prefers the AIADMK, the other minor partners will join the team to give a tough fight for the DMK front.

“The minor partners are still hoping that AIADMK would return to head the NDA, but there is a very slim chance for it. So, they prefer to wait and watch,” he observed.