Fighting hard to fend off the impression that the AIADMK was being controlled by the BJP, V. Maitreyan, a close confidante of deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, said on Sunday that the Dravidian major was in existence even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi became a force to reckon with and will continue to do so even after his time at the helm of affairs.
“AIADMK was in existence and was well entrenched even before Narendra Modi arrived. The AIADMK will continue even after Modi. The path taken by our founder MGR and the humungous growth achieved under Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (Jayalalithaa) are our guiding principles,” Mr. Maitreyan, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP representing the party and who was formerly with the BJP, told The Hindu .
Mr. Maitreyan’s statement has to be seen in the context of comments made by Tamil Nadu Minister for Dairy Development K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji on Friday during a party meeting in Andipatti.
“We need not fear any one as we have Prime Minister Modi with us. Nobody can do anything to our party. He will look into all things; the ‘two leaves’ symbol will come to us,” Mr. Bhalaji had said.
‘BJP, a supplementary’
Mr. Maitreyan added that the BJP could not help the AIADMK within Tamil Nadu and the party would have to fall back on its own cadre. “The BJP may supplement us, but a supplementary always remains that – a supplementary,” he added.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the AIADMK will be accommodated in the Union Cabinet by January when the next reshuffle is widely expected. By then, the AIADMK expects to set its house in order.
However, Mr. Maitreyan said any decision on this has to be taken by the Prime Minister, BJP president Amit Shah, AIADMK party coordinator O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Expecting a Cabinet reshuffle after the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, he said, “At that point, if they feel there is a need for us to join, then we will.”
On Monday, the Election Commission will continue its hearing in the AIADMK’s ‘two leaves’ symbol case.
