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Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Former AIADMK minister Anwhar Raajhaa joins DMK
Chennai: Former minister and AIADMK organisational secretary Anwhar Raajhaa met chief minister M K Stalin in the city and joined DMK on Monday. Raajhaa criticised BJP as well as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami after joining DMK and praised Stalin as a leader with no opponents to match his stature. "The agenda of BJP is to destroy AIADMK so that it can put up a fight with DMK as a political rival in TN. BJP is a negative force in TN," Raajhaa told reporters. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai Praising Stalin for his stiff opposition to BJP, Raajhaa said, "No doubt Stalin will be the next chief minister. People of the state vote for leaders, and there is none to counter Stalin in the AIADMK." "Seven former ministers held talks with EPS stressing on the unity of AIADMK for three hours at his residence, but he never accepted the request," he said, calling EPS a "rigid person". As Raajhaa reached Anna Arivalayam, minister Raja Kannappan and DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan took him inside where Stalin draped him with a shawl. Moments later, EPS sacked him from AIADMK. Raajhaa's entry into DMK is expected to add strength to the party in his native Ramanathapuram district. A loyalist of former CM M G Ramachandran, Raajhaa was a minister in Jayalalithaa's cabinet from 2001 to 2006. He was also elected as Lok Sabha MP from Ramanathapuram constituency in 2014. When AIADMK supported the bills on CAA and triple talaq in parliament, Raajhaa criticised BJP. He was also critical of AIADMK's alliance with BJP and said the saffron party could never get a foothold in TN.
United News of India
a day ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Anwar Raajhaa joins DMK, warns BJP will ‘destroy' AIADMK like other regional parties
Chennai, JUly 21 (UNI) Soon after joining the ruling DMK in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin today, former minister Anwar Raajhaa said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would destroy the AIADMK just as it has done with several other regional parties across the country. The AIADMK suffered a major setback ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, as Raajhaa was one of its most prominent Muslim faces and a vocal critic of the party's alliance with the BJP. Speaking to the media after his formal induction into the DMK, Raajhaa said, 'The AIADMK has derailed from its ideological path and is now held hostage by the BJP. Wherever the BJP aligns, its intention is to devour and destroy—as it did with the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party. The BJP's agenda is to wipe out the AIADMK and confront the DMK.' Raajhaa, who had been associated with the AIADMK for over five decades, said the BJP's treatment of the alliance was a key reason for his departure. 'In his three interviews, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had not even once mentioned that Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is Chief Ministerial candidate. He has been reiterating that the NDA will secure the mandate and the BJP would be part of the government. Even EPS could not declare that he is the CM face in the event of AIADMK winning the election. But, like (US President) Trump claiming that he brought about the truce (in the Indo-Pak conflict), the fate of EPS is similar to that and hence he is parroting for the last 10 days that he is the CM nominee,' Raajhaa said, slamming the BJP and EPS. Praising the leadership of the Chief Minister and DMK president, like all newcomers into the party, he said,'Stalin happens to be the only leader who can protect the Dravidian ideology and its cardinal principles like state autonomy and linguistic right of our language.' Stung by Raajhaa's move to desert the party, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) has expelled him as the party's Organising Secretary and from the primary membership. Though it was expected, the desertion of the Muslim leader had rattled the AIADMK leadership. Earlier, arriving at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, Raajhaa, was welcomed into the party fold by Stalin, who presented him with a shawl and the DMK membership card. He was disenchanted with the AIADMK's re-entry into the BJP-led NDA and had openly criticised the decision to align with the saffron party in party fora, concerned about the desertion of the party's base among the religious minorities. Earlier, he had blamed the loss in the 2021 Assembly poll to the alliance with the BJP. Now, his entry into the DMK will help the party to further consolidate the minorities' support in the crucial assembly election. A strongman from the southern Ramanathapuram district, he was in the AIADMK when the party was founded by the late matinee icon and Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR), in 1972. MGR had elevated him to the party's highest policy-making body and along with Jayalaltihaa and both were inducted though not being ministers. In the split after MGR's demise, he was with the faction led by MGR's widow VN Janaki but eventually switched over to Jayalalithaa's side. In the 2021 Assembly election, he was denied the ticket as he was opposed to the alliance with the BJP. Following his interview, praising VK Sasikala, he was axed from the party but rejoined in August last. He is among the last of the few known Muslim faces that the AIADMK had. With the minorities continuing to be captive vote bank of the DMK, Raajhaa's desertion would be a fatal blow for the AIADMK, particularly in the southern districts where the party's vote share has gone down, relegating it to third and fourth place in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. UNI MCR AAB
The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
AIADMK's Muslim face Anwhar Raajhaa joins DMK, says his former party is ‘now in hands of the BJP'
Raajhaa was expelled from the AIADMK minutes before he joined the DMK. In a statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi (EPS) said that Anwhar Raajhaa has been removed from the party's primary membership for acting contrary to the party's 'principles and goals'. Chennai: Disillusioned with the party's alliance with the BJP, former MP Anwhar Raajhaa, the Muslim face of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), joined the rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on Monday. At the DMK's headquarters, he said that he was deeply pained that what was once a strong party is now in the hands of the BJP. 'Whichever party joined hands with the AIADMK, it was the senior player and other parties will heed to the words of AIADMK and not the other way round. But, now the AIADMK is listening to the BJP's words and the AIADMK is in the BJP's hands,' Raajhaa told the reporters. This is not the first time that Raajhaa has criticised the AIADMK-BJP alliance. In 2021, after the AIADMK lost the general elections, he openly criticised and Edappadi K Palaniswami joint leadership for joining hands with the BJP and losing the assembly election. The AIADMK's former organising secretary had expressed concerns over the BJP's agenda to come to power in Tamil Nadu at the cost of the party. In 2021, at the party's district secretaries meeting, he had expressed concerns over alienating the minority voters from the AIADMK. Now after joining the DMK, he alleged that the BJP's agenda is to destroy the AIADMK and take over the opposition place to fight the Stalin-led party. 'We have seen what happened in West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In Tamil Nadu, their agenda is to dismantle the AIADMK and take that position in the state to fight against the ruling DMK,' Raajhaa told ThePrint. He also accused EPS of not being able to assert his own position as the chief ministerial candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). 'Amit Shah has been reiterating that it would be a NDA-led coalition government in which the BJP will be part of it. No where Amit Shah has said that EPS is their chief ministerial candidate. Even Edappadi K Palaniswami himself has not been able to assert that he is the chief minister candidate of the NDA. Such is the state of the party,' Raajhaa told ThePrint. In December 2021, then AIADMK's coordinator and joint coordinator Edappadi had expelled Raajhaa from the party positions after he criticised the leadership for the AIADMK-BJP alliance. However, later in 2023, he was again admitted into the party, after the AIADMK severed its ties with the BJP in September 2023. Anwhar Raajhaa's political journey began after he joined the DMK in 1960s after being part of the anti-Hindi agitations and later joined the AIADMK when former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran founded the party in 1972. Between 1986 and 2001, Raajhaa was the chairman of Mandapam village union in Ramanathapuram district. In 2001, he contested from Ramanathapuram and won the election. He was the labour and employment minister between 2001 and 2006. Later, in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he successfully contested from Ramanathapuram. Stating that he tried his best to save the AIADMK, Raajhaa told ThePrint that his voice was not heard. 'That's what forced me to join DMK. I am sure Thalapathy (Stalin) would become the chief minister once again,' he added. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: 24 deaths since 2021, no convictions: Custodial violence has left a blood trail in Tamil Nadu
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
AIADMK's Anwhar Raajhaa expelled from party, joins DMK
Former AIADMK Minister A. Anwhar Raajhaa, a prominent face of the minorities, was expelled from the party again on Monday (July 21, 2025). He later joined the DMK in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Chennai. In a statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami cited the former Minister's 'anti-party activity' as the reason for the disciplinary action. The strongman from Ramanathapuram, who has been critical of Mr. Palaniswami since the party revived poll ties with the BJP, said he was left with no option but to join the DMK to protect Tamil Nadu from various threats, including Hindi imposition and State autonomy, posed by the BJP-led government at the Centre. Addressing reporters in Chennai, Mr. Raajhaa said, 'The BJP's agenda is to destroy the AIADMK first and then fight against the DMK. Not even once has Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Mr. Palaniswami would be the Chief Minister candidate. He had only said that NDA would form the government in Tamil Nadu.' Controversies Mr. Raahjaa was first ousted from the AIADMK in December 2021 on the eve of the meeting of the party's executive. This followed an interview with The Hindu, in which he had said that V.K. Sasikala was no longer a liability. Earlier, he courted controversy after he allegedly spoke in a 'derogatory manner' against Mr. Palaniswami, for which he later apologised. During the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections, Mr. Raajhaa was not given a ticket to contest. In August 2023, he returned to the AIADMK. However, the party, which fielded candidates in 34 constituencies, including Ramanathapuram, during the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, did not nominate him again. The AIADMK's candidate P. Jeyaperumal had forfeited the deposit then. (With inputs from PTI)
