All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) has said that he has no dispute with K Annamalai, the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The statement comes after he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda in Delhi on 26 April. Annamalai was also present at the meeting.
"AIADMK has no issues with Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai. If we had a rift then how will Annamalai campaign for AIADMK in Erode (East) by-polls", he said.
Of late the narrative that EPS and Annamalai do not get along with each other has gained credence after statements by EPS telling reporters not to ask him about Annamalai and that he would discuss the issue of alliance only with the national leadership.
Annamalai had also reportedly offered to resign as the state president if the alliance continued.
While there are no details of what was discussed during the meeting, it indicates that the national leadership of the BJP is unlikely to take decisions on Tamil Nadu affairs in the absence of its state president Annamalai.
According to political commentators, if the alliance continues, the BJP is likely to press for more seats in the 2024 elections because Annamalai has time and again stated that his target is to win 25 seats from the state and strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha.
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