The AIADMK has said it is wrong to infer that the party had sought to overlook its political allies in one of the resolutions it adopted at its general council meeting on Sunday.
The party had adopted a resolution calling upon its cadre to work for the success of the organisation and “those who have the backing” of the party in the elections to local bodies. There was no reference to the term ‘allies’, though another resolution on the outcome of the byelections in Nanguneri and Vikravandi Assembly constituencies thanked allies and their leaders and workers.
This provided room for speculation on whether the party would go it alone, considering its track record. In the 2011 local body polls, when Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs, the AIADMK decided to go it alone. Its candidates were elected to the mayorship of all the 10 municipal corporations and to the posts of chairpersons of 89 municipalities (out of 124) and 285 town panchayats (out of 526).
Likewise, in the 2014 Lok Sabha and 2016 Assembly polls, the party faced the electorate on its own. However, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and byelections to the 24 Assembly constituencies, it forged an alliance with several parties such as the BJP, the PMK and the DMDK.
Last week, when the Cabinet decided to change the mode of election for chiefs of urban local bodies from direct to indirect, it was the BJP that had strongly protested the move.
Asked about the absence of the term ‘allies’ in the resolution in question, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, who proposed the motion, said, “Only our allies are those who have our party’s backing. We will definitely face the [local body] polls along with our allies.”
