AIADMK will not contest in K'taka polls, to back BJP

CHENNAI: Amidst simmering tension between AIADMK and BJP in TN, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) decided to extend its outside support to the BJP in Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections.

Decision was made in the AIADMK emergency executive committee meeting which was held at MGR Maligai in Chennai on Sunday.

The AIADMK emergency executive committee meet was chaired by party's praesidium chairman A Tamil Mahan Hussain where 320 members took part including 70 district secretaries and it was the first meeting after Edappadi K Palaniswami took office as party's general secretary, the party's highest authority, following a leadership tussle with ousted leader O Panneerselvam.

The EC meet has approved Edappadi K Palaniswami as party's general secretary and given the authorization to take final call on the party's policy issues and the key issues and lashed out its rival, the ruling DMK.

In total 15 resolutions have been passed, 10 are against the ruling DMK government.

The EC adopted resolutions against the ruling DMK government over issues including alleged deteriorating law and order, disrespecting state assembly conventions, drug menace, arrest of party's IT wing functionaries and its other workers for 'exposing' the ruling party's 'misdeeds' among others.

The EC also demanded the DMK to fulfil its various poll promises made ahead of the 2021 elections and the party hit out at the government over the hike in property tax, water tax, besides rising inflation.

Another resolution called upon functionaries to constitute booth committees across the state to strengthen the grassroot election apparatus of the party ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.

The EC also urged the ruling DMK government to pressurise the union government to speed up the Nadanthai Vazhi Cauvery and Godavari-Cauvery river linking projects.
"The DMK government has neglected these projects for the last two years, " a resolution said.

The EC also slammed the ruling DMK government for increasing the state's debt burden worth Rs 2.5 lakh crores in the past two years alone and the government did not take any steps to decrease the debt burden, said the resolution.

The meeting also hit out at ousted leader O Panneerselvam through a resolution, stating that the party under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami should teach a lesson to traitors, 'who have clandestine link with DMK'.

In another resolution, the party resolved to work hard for the victory of the AIADMK-led alliance in 2024 parliamentary elections and emerge victorious in the 2026 assembly elections under Edappadi K Palaniswami's leadership.

Conference in Madurai on August 20

In a bid to galvanise party workers ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, the opposition AIADMK will conduct a state conference in Madurai on August 20, 2023.

This will be the first major public outreach of the party after Edappadi K Palaniswami was elevated as the AIADMK general secretary.

Recalling that party founder MG Ramachandran and late chief minister J Jayalalithaa have charted history by holding mega conferences in places like Tirunelveli and Tiruchirappalli, the resolution said the Madurai conference would also be a turning point for AIADMK and it will ensure the mass victory in 2024 parliamentary elections.

The venue of the state conference has also been chosen as Madurai in a bid to disprove the charges that AIADMK has been weakened in southern districts of Tamil Nadu due to ousted leaders VK Sasikala, TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam who hails from the Thevar community.

Notably, the expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam is preparing for the Tiruchirappalli convention on April 24.