Latest news with #anti-DMK
Hans India
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
TN remains an enigma for the saffron lobby
As NDA 3.0 completes its first anniversary today, the perennially in election mode apparatus of the alliance must already be working overtime for the slate for the later part of the year. Bihar, one of the states readying for the Assembly elections, is slowly but surely seeing changes, ostensibly in favour of an overwhelming saffron win at present. Whatever that may be, the 2026 elections must be making the war rooms of various political parties working with a different game plan as it is where the INDIA bloc sees its chances. Tamil Nadu, by this time, next year would have had a new government in place. The question is, which party will get to run the state which is now seeing aggressive posturing by NDA and counter attacks by the DMK government. Once a formal alliance was sealed by the Centre with the principal Opposition party and old ally, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the BJP must have felt relieved that it has made the first move, well. Given that the MGR-founded party is facing an identity and existential crisis in its 53rd year of existence, the cobbling together of the alliance with smaller parties being wooed establishes the fact that the saffron party is happy to ride piggyback on the Dravidian big brother this time around. Amit Shah's latest statement that the new alliance will sweep the 2026 polls has not entirely been rejected by the political pundits and as expected, pooh poohed by the DMK leaders. Its top-rung icons say that if the Dravidian ideology resonates with the people, it is nigh impossible for the BJP to set its foot in Tamil Nadu. While a few still consider the earlier elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as a 'lost opportunity' for the BJP to have made inroads into the Tamil psyche, the highly unpopular way the administration has gone about its business has made the average public take a critical look at the goings-on in the State. Dynastic politics – that of Udayanidhi being groomed to take over from the present CM, M K Stalin - is still being helplessly accepted by the party machinery and followers as a 'natural' progression of the first family in retaining power. What is not left unnoticed is the increased presence of Karunanidhi's daughter and the CM's step-sister Kanimozhi in the central scheme of things, Stalin's blow hot blow cold with Modi government and the stench of corruption in the governance of the State which has been allowed to grow (the TASMAC case, for one), for a surgical strike later by the central machinery, closer to the poll dates. It is surely a work in progress for the non-DMK formation, but it is a known fact that the DMK has till date never managed a second successive stint in office. Will they break the jinx this time or will a currently docile anti-DMK alliance spring a surprise? If it is the final chance for the AIADMK to retain its political relevance, it is also the best-ever opportunity for the BJP in nearly five decades to make its presence felt in the state's corridors of power. Whether they can make or mar will be in the hands of the Tamil electorate.
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
AIADMK's executive committee ratifies the party's alliance with BJP
The executive committee of the AIADMK on Friday gave its approval to the formation of an alliance with the BJP for the 2026 Assembly election. A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the executive held at the party headquarters here. It was attended by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, presidium chairman A. Tamilmagan Hussain, and senior functionaries K.P. Munusamy, Natham R. Viswanathan, and Dindigul C. Sreenivasan. The motion was moved by a group of office-bearers, including organisation secretaries S. Semmalai and T. Rathnavel. Among the notable participants was former Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, who was said to have differences of opinion with Mr. Palaniswami. Expressing its wish that the coalition would become a 'victorious alliance', the committee said a front was being formed by like-minded parties to defeat the 'common adversary' — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) — by ensuring that anti-DMK votes did not get split. The committee, which also greeted Mr. Palaniswami for his efforts to forge a 'mega alliance', resolved to make him the Chief Minister again. The AIADMK welcomed the Centre's move to hold a caste census, along with the general census, an issue that the party had been pursuing with the Centre for years. It declared that it would stand by the Central government in its efforts to root out terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. Criticising the DMK government on a variety of issues, the executive called upon the State government to bring out a White Paper on industrial investment that materialised after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin made a couple of foreign visits.
New Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
EPS hosts dinner for party MLAs after AIADMK-BJP alliance; justifies decision for alliance
CHENNAI: Ahead of the AIADMK district secretaries meeting on April 25 and executive committee meeting on May 2, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hosted a dinner for party MLAs at his residence on Wednesday. All MLAs, except senior leader KA Sengottaiyan, were present on the occasion. One MLA could not attend due to personal reasons. Palaniswami hosted the dinner after the AIADMK and the BJP revived their alliance on April 11. After the revival of ties with the BJP a few senior leaders had expressed displeasure over this development during internal meetings of the party. Palaniswami, on Wednesday, is believed to have explained the reasons behind his decision to revive the alliance with the BJP. It may be noted that Palaniswami had been reiterating that unseating the DMK government in the 2026 Assembly election is the sole objective of the AIADMK, and to achieve this, he would align with all like-minded parties to consolidate anti-DMK votes. AIADMK presidium chairman Thamizhmagan Hussain, senior leaders M Thambidurai, CVe Shanmugam, B Valarmathi and others were present.
