Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ousted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O Panneerselvam on Saturday announced that alliance talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been finalised.
Speaking to reporters, Panneerselvam also said that there are plans to form a mega alliance in Tamil Nadu to support Narendra Modi’s candidacy for Prime Minister once again.
Following his expulsion from the AIADMK, Panneerselvam formed The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (OPS) as a breakaway faction of the party earlier led by J Jayalalithaa.
“Alliance talks are finalised. We will announce after saying to you. Talks are going on with the BJP. A Mega alliance will be formed in Tamil Nadu to choose Narendra Modi as PM again,” news agency ANI quoted Panneerselvam as saying.
The announcement comes a day ahead of BJP national president J P Nadda’s Tamil Nadu visit where he is scheduled to meet alliance leaders including Panneerselvam.
The AIADMK formed an alliance with the BJP during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 state Assembly polls. Though the NDA won a second term in 2019 general elections, the alliance failed in Tamil Nadu.
In September last year, Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK ended its four-year-old ties with the BJP, saying that it would lead a separate front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP’S EFFORTS TO FORGE ALLIANCE ACROSS INDIA
Ahead of the polls, the BJP has been investing significant efforts to increase its allies across India.
On Friday, February 9, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary confirmed his alliance with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, hours after his grandfather, former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, was conferred the Bharat Ratna.
In addition, according to sources, the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are likely to join hands again ahead of the 2024 general election.