The souring of ties between the AIADMK and BJP, was once again on display on Tuesday, when Minister for Khadi and Village Industries G Baskaran told the media in Sivaganga district that the AIADMK was waiting for an opportune time to snap ties with the BJP. Blaming the national party for 'letting them down' in elections, the minister said the AIADMK wants to be on its own.
"All the cabinet ministers were opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). We are waiting for the right time to snap ties with the BJP. It is the BJP that had let us down in the elections. We want to be on our own," he proclaimed.
However, he was forced to retract his statement after Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar made it clear that Baskaran's statements were personal and not the party's view. The Village Industries Minister, on Wednesday, then claimed that his statement was only regarding the CAA and protests against it in the state. He further claimed that his party's ties with the BJP remained strong.
Jayakumar meanwhile maintained that only the party leadership will take a call on the alliance ahead of the 2021 assembly elections and that it will depend on the political climate. The AIADMK leadership has already warned its members and leaders against commenting on the alliance in public.
Despite this, the change in dynamic between the two parties is becoming more evident.
Following the rural local body polls in the state, even former AIADMK MP Anwar Raja told the media that the party’s support for CAA had cost them dearly in the elections, leading to upsetting losses in Muslim-dominated areas.
In a surprising personal attack, Jayakumar himself took on former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan of the BJP after the latter alleged that Tamil Nadu has been a training ground for terrorists since former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's period.
BJP leaders in the state however, remain unfazed by the statements coming from its ally's camp.
BJP general secretaries Vanathi Srinivasan and KS Narendran, have both maintained to ToI that statements from individual ministers will not be considered the party's stand.