Chennai, March 19 Tamil Nadu BJP President, K. Annamalai, who has been making a strong pitch to contest the upcoming 2024 general elections alone, has taken a U-turn stating that he was not empowered to decide on the alliance with the AIADMK.
Annamalai has earlier been vociferous for contesting the 2024 general elections independently and without any alliance with the AIADMK.
Without a Dravidian party as an alliance partner, it would be difficult for the BJP to win polls and as far as the national leadership of the saffron party is concerned, it needs more seats from south India for which an alliance with the AIADMK was crucial.
Annamalai has now changed his political stance and said that the party's national leadership will decide on the alliance with AIADMK and added that he will continue voicing his views in consultation with the national leadership. The BJP leader was speaking to mediapersons at an event in the city.
The alliance partners of the NDA BJP and AIADMK are not on good terms for the past few days after 13 BJP leaders, including the party IT Cell chief, CTR Nirmal Kumar resigned from the party and joined the AIADMK.
Annamalai has been on the receiving end from the AIADMK over his statements on social media against the former Chief Minister and party interim general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) welcoming the estranged BJP leaders and being present while they were joining the AIADMK.
The AIADMK second-rung leaders, including party spokesman and former Minister, D. Jayakumar, have criticised the BJP and said that in Tamil Nadu it was for the AIADMK to decide on the alliance with the saffron party.
Some BJP leaders had also expressed their dissatisfaction with the statement of Annamalai to go solo in the 2024 general Assembly polls.
However, Annamalai said that he would work hard to reduce money power in elections and added that Tamil Nadu politics will improve only after money power is truncated in politics.
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