Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ousted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O Panneerselvam, in a statement to the press on Saturday, affirmed that discussions regarding a potential alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are currently in progress.
Panneerselvam also divulged plans for the formation of a substantial coalition in Tamil Nadu to lend support to Narendra Modi's candidacy for Prime Minister once again.
Following his expulsion from the AIADMK, Panneerselvam established The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (OPS) as a separate faction from the party formerly helmed by J Jayalalithaa.
"We have reached an understanding through our discussions. We will make the formal announcement at the appropriate time. Negotiations are ongoing with the BJP. We envision the creation of a significant coalition in Tamil Nadu to reaffirm Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister," Panneerselvam stated, as reported by news agency ANI.
This declaration comes a day before the scheduled visit of BJP national president J P Nadda to Tamil Nadu, during which he is slated to engage with alliance leaders, including Panneerselvam.
While the AIADMK previously allied with the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 state Assembly polls, the coalition encountered setbacks in Tamil Nadu despite the NDA securing a second term in the 2019 general elections.
In September of the previous year, the AIADMK, under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, terminated its longstanding association with the BJP, opting to spearhead a distinct front for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
EXPANSION OF BJP'S ALLIANCE NETWORK ACROSS INDIA
Anticipating the impending polls, the BJP has been actively fostering alliances across the nation to bolster its electoral prospects.
On February 9, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary affirmed his party's alliance with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, coinciding with the posthumous conferral of the Bharat Ratna upon his grandfather, former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Moreover, sources suggest that the BJP is poised to rekindle its partnership with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in preparation for the 2024 general election.
