Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai: The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has reiterated that the AIADMK will remain the custodian of Muslims in Tamil Nadu, said party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami here on Wednesday.
Addressing an ‘Iftar’ function, organized by his party, Palaniswami, recalled the services rendered by the former Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha and said that the iconic leader of the AIADMK had always stood for the welfare of the Muslims and this policy will continue under him.
The former Chief Minister also recalled that it was Jayalalitha who had first proposed the name of APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President of India.
Edappadi K Palaniswami, who became the general secretary of the AIADMK, after the death of party supremo, J Jayalalithaa and allied with the BJP in 2017, a move that saw the erosion of Muslim support for the AIADMK.
The AIADMK, after ending its ties with the BJP in September 2023, is trying to resurrect the party from scratch. To regain the lost ground, the AIADMK is now playing the ‘Muslim card’ vociferously which constitutes about 6% of the votes in Tamil Nadu.
When asked about his party’s stand on the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), the law on Triple Talaq, and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Palaniswami said, “Our stand on these issues is explained clearly in our election manifesto of 2019. We are opposed to them as AIADMK is concerned over its long-term impact on the society.”
Palaniswami also announced that the AIADMK will not form an electoral alliance with any of the national parties in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He also dismissed the rumor that the third front led by the BJP may hurt the electoral prospects of the AIADMK-led front. He said, the talks with the DMDK and PMK are in the final stages and the details of it will be made public at an appropriate time.
Tamil Nadu politics since 1916 has revolved around the Dravidian plank initiated by the Justice Party. This party rose into prominence in Tamil Nadu in opposition to Sanatan Dharma, Brahminical domination besides a host of other such things. The legacy of the Justice party is carried forward by the Dravidian parties including DMK, AIADMK, DMDK, and other such political parties.
In recent years the BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi has made an exorbitant use of money power to make a dent in Tamil Nadu. With the Governor leading the Hindutva bandwagon, and BJP leader K Annamalai, an ex-IPS officer leading the party from the front some unexpected development is expected in Tamil Nadu. This is said because there is crass use of money power is on display. A huge sum is spent on advertisements, billboards, and hoardings everywhere in the state, giving a semblance of appearance that the BJP is all set to dent the Dravidian fort.
However, the Mega Opinion Poll conducted by Network18 has predicted that the DMK will lead the INDIA bloc to an impressive haul of 30 seats and may get a 51% vote share. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may get 5 seats with a net vote share of 13%, while the AIADMK and allies will pick up 4 seats, and get around 17% of the votes share.
The prediction of 5 seats given the Network18, seems to be doubtful. The picture on the ground zero is that the BJP has a contest on only two seats in Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari and Vellore. It is likely it can be victorious on these two seats, maybe one, even may go blank, provided the contest is evenly fought.