DMK's exit forces BJP in Tamil Nadu to introspect

Although many national and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have indicated that the party might change its allies in Tamil Nadu, leaders from Coimbatore, Erode and Nilgiris are questioning the feasibility of an understanding with the All-India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in view of the past experiences.

The two BJP members in the Lok Sabha from Tamil Nadu are from this region, indicating a BJP base. The party cadres reported their dissatisfaction with the changing of alliance partners recently when a team of the BJP state leaders came to visit the region.

CP Radhakrishnan, state BJP chief, and Master Mathan represent Coimbatore and Nilgiris constituencies, respectively, in the Lok Sabha.

Some workers and leaders questioned the propriety of the move to break away from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), reportedly instigated by some state leaders, known for their anti-DMK stand, ever since the BJP forged an alliance with the party in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The workers blamed these leaders for criticising the DMK at any given opportunity, leading to the exit of the party from the alliance, the district BJP leaders claimed.

Citing remarks by one of the state BJP general secretaries that the party had given enough hints to the DMK for quitting the alliance, they said it showed "individual dislike for the DMK" as the reason for such a move.

The team had no proper reply to the question whether these anti-DMK leaders had the "blessings of the national leadership", and if that was not the case, why were they not pulled up for making such remarks.

Those against an alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP wanted the state leaders to approach and try to patch up with the DMK, since that party, despite attempting to forge an alliance with the Congress, had stood by the BJP in its lean period.