Shah, who stopped at Tiruvannamalai to offer prayers after his two-day visit to Puducherry, was welcomed by the leaders of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, former CM O Panneerselvam and deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran factions of AIADMK.
As if to prove the Opposition's theories of BJP running the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, three factions of the AIADMK vied with each other to 'welcome' BJP president Amit Shah during his visit to Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai on Tuesday.
Shah, who stopped at Tiruvannamalai to offer prayers after his two-day visit to Puducherry, was welcomed by the leaders of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, former CM O Panneerselvam and deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran factions of AIADMK.
On Tuesday, Shah arrived in a helicopter at Government Arts and Science College in Tiruvannamalai where a makeshift Helipad was located. He was received by his party's Tamil Nadu unit president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and union minister of state Pon Radhakrishnan apart from representatives from the three factions.
AIADMK faction's decision to welcome BJP chief comes at a time when opposition parties in particular DMK working president MK Stalin has been alleging that BJP government at the Centre is remote controlling all the factions of the ruling party.
On behalf of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board minister Sevvoor S Ramachandran welcomed him. Dinakaran's faction was represented by MLAs V Panneerselvam (Kalasapakkam) and Dusi K Mohan, while Tiruvannamalai MP Vanaroja was the OPS faction's representative.
After the sudden demise of former chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on December 5 last year, the AIADMK has now split into three major factions with the Election Commission freezing the party's name as well as election symbol. All the factions of the AIADMK came together for the first time to extend their support to the BJP led National Democratic Alliance presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind. Strangely for the second time, they all come together to welcome Mr Shah.
Professor Ramu Manivannan of the Department of Politics and Public Administration in the University of Madras feels that AIADMK leaders have no business to welcome BJP leader Amit Shah that too in Tiruvannamalai. "AIADMK is now a party without any leader. How can you expect a party without a leader to stand up?" he said, adding that they (AIADMK leaders) feel the Central government has a big handle to keep them in power. He noted that AIADMK factions are staying together in the government for the sake of power and to wield influence.
AIADMK faction's decision to welcome BJP chief comes at a time when opposition parties in particular DMK working president MK Stalin has been alleging that BJP government at the Centre is remote controlling all the factions of the ruling party. Political analyst Gnani says that he was not at all surprised with AIADMK leaders welcoming Shah. "It is quite obvious that three factions of the AIADMK are getting instructions from the BJP. They know the power lies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah and they are just bowing to the powers," he said.
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