The decision, made by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and unanimously accepted by functionaries at Monday’s party meeting, will be to the opposition party’s benefit.
Published: 27th September 2023 12:20 AM | Last Updated: 27th September 2023 12:20 AM | A+A A-
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After seven years of ‘association’, four years of an uneasy alliance, and about one week of public acrimony, the AIADMK-BJP relationship formally and unambiguously ended on Monday. The Dravidian major had continued seat-sharing talks for the parliamentary elections with the BJP’s national leadership even after saying the saffron party was not its ally. However, Delhi’s obvious reluctance to sack or rein in the BJP’s state president K Annamalai, who had targeted the regional party for months, gave the AIADMK the excuse it needed to call it quits.
The decision, made by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and unanimously accepted by functionaries at Monday’s party meeting, will be to the opposition party’s benefit. The alliance with the BJP had opened the AIADMK up to criticism of being subservient to the national party and complicit with a communal agenda. The alliance with the BJP came with more baggage than electoral benefits because despite Annamalai’s strident efforts the BJP has yet to significantly grow its footprint in Tamil Nadu. Further, the BJP has a track record of absorbing or cannibalising the following of its regional partners, which poses an existential threat to the AIADMK. EPS, who has established himself as the undisputed chief of the AIADMK, is aiming for victory in the 2026 assembly polls, a goal the alliance did little to further.
In the short-term, the BJP is certainly the loser. If it had hoped to offset any electoral losses in northern states by picking up a few seats in Tamil Nadu, that chance is now lost. In the long term, however, the party could try to gain ground as a viable alternative to the Dravidian parties in the state. Its backing of Annamalai despite the complaints of a key ally shows that it might be willing to take a long view. While the DMK might expect to benefit electorally from a split opposition, it may also have to play nicer with some of its grousing allies, who could seek to play the BJP-free AIADMK against the ruling party during seat-sharing talks. With Monday’s announcement, the AIADMK has rejuvenated itself and its cadres. The DMK’s electoral calculus has just changed.
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