AIADMK officially breaks ties with BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

AIADMK was formed by M G Ramachandran (MGR) in 1972, and the name 'Anna' was added to the party in respect of Annadurai

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Monday officially announced its withdrawal from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Soon after the decision was announced by the deputy general secretary of the party, KP Munusamy, cadres welcomed the move with bursting fire crackers. The immediate reason cited for the move was the critical remarks made by the state BJP chief, K Annamalai, about the late Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai (Anna). 

In the truce talks with the BJP central leadership held last week, AIADMK sought a public apology from Annamalai for his comments or him being replaced with a non-controversial leader. However, the BJP did not accept the demand. Annamalai said that the national leadership will respond to the AIADMK decision, and he will speak about it later.

 

The announcement came after a unanimous resolution was passed at a meeting, chaired by party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, in the party headquarters in Chennai, where all the party’s MPs, Assembly members and district chiefs participated. 

Last week, senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar had announced that the party is breaking its ties with the BJP and a decision on ties during the Lok Sabha polls will be decided by the party leadership. 

Recently, Annamalai claimed that Annadurai had insulted Hinduism during an event in Madurai in 1956. As a consequence of this statement, Annadurai had to go into hiding in Madurai, only being able to resume his travels after issuing an apology. Earlier, in June, Annamalai responded to a question regarding whether the period from 1991 to 1996 was one of the worst in terms of corruption. He stated that several administrations in Tamil Nadu were corrupt, leading to the conviction of former chief ministers in courts of law, making it one of the most corrupt states in India. During this period, Jayalalithaa was in power and the remarks forced the AIADMK to pass a resolution against the state BJP chief.

Interestingly, AIADMK was formed by M G Ramachandran (MGR) in 1972 and the name ‘Anna’ was added to the party paying respect to Annadurai.