Having made tall promises about getting all Union Ministers to Tamil Nadu, the BJP now finds itself in an embarrassing position. While the tour of these Ministers was supposed to begin on May 9, not a single one has turned up till now. What is more, the acquittal of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the wealth case seems to have put the brakes on its efforts to take on the AIADMK, with most leaders going silent on the judgment, while other Opposition parties criticised it.
Party insiders say the statement that State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan put out on the day of the judgment “surprised” many. She called Ms. Jayalalithaa the “people’s Chief Minister”, a moniker used by the AIADMK ever since their general secretary stepped down from the post in September last year.
“Ms. Tamilisai was probably the only person who was openly critical of Ms. Jayalalithaa. Her statement evoked great surprise,” a State vice-president said, on condition of anonymity. The internal equations of the BJP may have led to the toning down of her position, some feel. “Other senior leaders were unhappy that she ruled out an alliance with the AIADMK almost a year ahead of the Assembly polls,” said the leader. Given how the NDA has broken up in the State, with the PMK and the MDMK leaving the alliance, the leaders want more caution exercised in commenting about alliances. “We do not want the party to be isolated,” the leader said.
In fact, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan too made positive statements about the verdict, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself called up the AIADMK leader to congratulate her on the legal victory. The BJP had drummed up a big campaign around the proposed visits of Union Ministers to the State, calling it an exercise in reaching out to the the poor. Since this programme has not taken off, the party is facing embarrassment.
However, BJP national secretary, P. Muralidhar Rao, said the visit of Union Ministers was postponed, not cancelled. “The Ministers are very busy since many new schemes have been launched. The visits will begin most probably by June first week,” he told The Hindu.
Signs of BJP going soft on AIADMK after the acquittal
of Jayalalithaa
