The BJP’s hopes of retaining the National Democratic Alliance for the 2016 Assembly elections suffered a jolt on Tuesday, as PMK founder S. Ramadoss, a key BJP ally in the Lok Sabha polls, declared that his party would lead the alliance in the State.
“We will align with any party that supports a government headed by the PMK,” he told The Hindu .
Dr. Ramadoss said he agreed with the former Union Minister and PMK youth wing leader, Anbumani Ramadoss’ remarks that it was for the BJP leadership to declare whether or not his party was part of the NDA.
“Our stand is clear. We want to provide an alternative to both the DMK and the AIADMK. Any party interested in brining about a change can join hands with us,” he said.
Besides the PMK, actor Vijayakant’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) were part of the BJP alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP and the PMK won a seat each, while the others drew a blank.
It is not clear whether the other allies will join a PMK-led front.
Both Dr. Ramadoss and his son Dr. Anbumani are unhappy with the NDA government’s stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
Dr. Anbumani said on Monday that the Congress-led UPA government had failed to prevent the attacks on Tamil fishermen; nor did the NDA government make any effort to stop them. “This will reflect on the BJP government, and the people will lose faith in the Prime Minister,” he said at Sivakasi.
BJP’s responseResponding to Dr. Ramadoss’ comments, Muralidhar Rao, BJP national general secretary and in charge for the party affairs in Tamil Nadu, told The Hindu on the phone that since the elections were almost two years away, there was no need now to decide on the question of the alliance leadership.
Furthermore, he said, no constituent walked out of the NDA. “Nobody has said the alliance is dissolved.”
