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AIADMK distancing from BJP

People have given their clear verdict against the national parties in the state, says O Panneerselvam

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O Panneerselvam
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There seems to be some discomfort brewing between the ruling AIADMK and the BJP as recent statements by senior leaders, including deputy CM O Panneerselvam, seem to indicate.

"The Dravidian parties have been ruling the state since 1967. People have given their clear verdict against the national parties in the state," Panneerselvam declared, suggesting the change in AIADMK's political strategy.

The AIADMK's strategy to distance itself from the BJP to re-build its "strong independent regional party image" came in the wake of its humiliating defeat at the hands of its rebel leader, TTV Dhinakaran, in the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll in December last year. After the sudden demise of chief minister and party surpemo J Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016, the ruling AIADMK supported the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre on all the major issues and even changed its stand on the food security bill and Uday scheme.

Days after the RK Nagar bypoll defeat, senior AIADMK minister Sellur K Raju blamed the close relationship with the BJP for the by-election defeat. Deputy Lok Sabha Speaker M Thambidurai took a dig at BJP which lost deposit in the RK Nagar bypoll saying that national parties could only compete with NOTA, not with the AIADMK. "No power can wipe out Dravidian parties," he asserted. Meanwhile, BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan said that Panneerselvam's comment was not directed at her party, but might be for Congress and Communist parties.

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