AIADMK unfazed by OPS's exit from NDA; BJP says no pressure from EPS

Time of India

a day ago

Chennai: MDMK general secretary Vaiko dismissed speculation that his party was in talks with the
BJP
, stating he would never support Hindutva forces.
"Speculation of MDMK quitting the DMK alliance is baseless," Vaiko told reporters here on Friday after calling on chief minister M K Stalin to check on his health.
Vaiko said the MDMK will never support Hindutva forces. "We joined hands with DMK in 2021 to block BJP, RSS and other fascist forces from gaining ground in Tamil Nadu, and we will continue this position for the 2026 elections and beyond," he said. TNN
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Chennai:
AIADMK
appears unfazed by the exit of the party's former coordinator O Panneerselvam from the
NDA
, while the BJP has taken a non-committal stand.
The saffron party has neither criticised OPS for leaving NDA and meeting chief minister M K Stalin soon afterwards, nor has it made any public statements to woo back OPS.
The party is cautious that any move to reach out to OPS would offend principal ally AIADMK.
AIADMK leaders from southern TN say his exit will not dent their prospects. "His past electoral wins in five consecutive assembly elections were because of the leadership of Jayalalithaa and the Two Leaves symbol," former minister Sellur K Raju told TOI.
He said symbols, party strength, and the political circumstances at that time determine the results.
"This time people will decide between EPS and Stalin,'' he said.
BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran adopted a softer tone.
"I spoke to OPS personally before his announcement and asked him not to take this decision. I even told him that if he wanted, I would arrange a meeting with Prime Minister Modi. But despite this, he chose otherwise," Nagenthran said.
On whether there was any pressure from EPS to sideline OPS during the PM's visit, Nagenthran said there was no pressure from anyone.
Nagenthran said he was open to take efforts to organise a meeting with the PM if OPS wanted in future.
While OPS's political clout has diminished over years, political observers feel that his exit could still have implications in southern Tamil Nadu, especially among thevars, the community to which OPS belongs to.
For the BJP, his presence in the alliance mattered symbolically and strategically. Symbolically, that all the splinter groups of AIADMK were under one umbrella and strategically, the slice of Thevar votes, however thin it may be, that OPS could have brought in a tightly contested election.
However, AIADMK leaders said the 'minor' dent that could be caused by OPS in the thevar belt could be offset by the presence of AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and state BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran, as both are thevars.