With almost every ally deserting it and its own non-committal stand on the AIADMK, the BJP seems to be isolating itself in Tamil Nadu despite high hopes of widening its base here.
On Tuesday, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, considered to be an important decision maker in the State BJP, openly stated that though the party wanted its allies to stick to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) was free to leave if it wanted to. Such a departure would not affect the BJP’s growth, he asserted.
The sharp comments came a day after PMK founder S. Ramadoss asserted that his party would lead an alliance in the next Assembly polls, clashing with a recent similar idea enunciated by BJP president Amit Shah.
Quite significantly, the DMDK too has made it clear that it would not like to be a junior partner of an alliance in Assembly polls and would want its leader Vijayakant declared the chief ministerial candidate. The same is likely to be reiterated in the general council meeting to be held on Wednesday. In stark contrast to the situation that prevailed during the Lok Sabha polls when the BJP managed to put together a formidable four-party alliance, it now looks friendless. Though the PMK and the DMDK have not officially moved out of the alliance, there has been zero coordination between the two parties after the parliamentary elections.
Significantly, the AIADMK, always seen as a prospective ally, too has kept its distance from the BJP. Even on Tuesday, party mouth piece Namathu MGR put out a strong column against Hindutva politics in which a former civil servant pressed on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow the secular tradition as “upheld” by AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa.
Swamy’s steps Adding fuel to the fire are the moves of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in the disproportionate assets case of Ms. Jayalalithaa. On Monday, he wanted the Karnataka High Court to allow him to put forth his arguments in the case. He followed the matter up with the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
A senior BJP leader said the party had anticipated the situation it was in.
“The allies found the BJP the best bet for the Lok Sabha polls given the anti-Congress wave. The Assembly election is a completely different game and they are deploying a different strategy,” he said, on condition of anonymity. The party, he said, would “wait and watch” how the situation evolved.
“Closer to the polls, we are sure we will get new allies,” he added.
