Alliance talks between the AIADMK and BJP, which started in the first week of January, seem to be facing roadblocks with a section of AIADMK ministers and leaders opposing the plan to share almost half of the total Parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu with NDA parties. The AIADMK leadership on Wednesday issued a notice, inviting applications from potential candidates to all 40 Lok Sabha constituencies — 39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The move is being seen as an attempt to console a section of party leaders upset with the deal struck with the BJP in the first round of talks. A top AIADMK minister involved in the talks said a section of ministers “who are immune to BJP” and many district-level leaders are refusing to go with the BJP and added that the party leadership is “currently trying to tackle the crisis”. “Grassroots level feedback from the party is against an alliance with the BJP. A section of ministers too are against it. Leaders who come from areas with sizeable minority votes, those who do not fear Income Tax raids and other threats are among those who oppose,” the minister said. The minister, however, added that there is “no question of AIADMK facing polls alone”. Senior ministers said state Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam, Industries Minister M C Sampath and Commercial Taxes Minister K C Veeramani are among those who oppose an alliance with the BJP. “Leaders like Veeramani, who comes from a region with a sizeable number of minority votes, fear that an alliance with the BJP will spoil the party’s traditional minority vote bank in many constituencies,” said one of the ministers. As ministers P Thangamani and S P Velumani, both known to have close links to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, lead the alliance talks, leaders of the camp led by Deputy CM O Panneerselvam are feeling sidelined. Two days ago, AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan, known to be close to Panneerselvam, expressed disappointment over not being included in the pre-poll committees — AIADMK has formed three panels to look into pre-poll preparations. Asked about opposition within the party to sharing more seats with the BJP, Maitreyan said, “A section in the party is opposed to BJP itself.” M Thambidurai, AIADMK leader and Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha, said the party was never part of NDA and that it has “no business to help BJP to grow in Tamil Nadu”.
