Published 18:30 IST, December 31st 2020
AIADMK believes 'BJP will accept EPS as CM candidate', reiterates stance on coalition govt
Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar asserted that AIADMK has full faith that BJP will accept E Palaniswami as NDA's CM candidate for the Assembly polls.
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On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar asserted that AIADMK has full faith that BJP will accept E Palaniswami as NDA's CM candidate for the 2021 Assembly polls. This comes amid BJP's reluctance to endorse the AIADMK leader's candidature for the CM post. Mentioning that BJP is a part of the AIADMK-led alliance as it has the same wavelength, he reiterated that the NDA will form the next government in the State with AIADMK crossing the majority mark on its own. Ruling out the prospect of a coalition government in Tamil Nadu, Jayakumar hinted that more political parties might join the alliance.
Earlier on Wednesday, BJP's TN in charge CT Ravi revealed that the NDA Co-ordination Committee shall announce the CM candidate after the official announcement of the Assembly polls. Conceding that AIADMK is the largest partner in NDA in the state, he made it clear that the CM will be from the party winning the most number of seats. Regarding the seat-sharing arrangement, Ravi stated that the BJP Parliamentary Board will take the necessary decision as per the situation. Moreover, he observed that NDA's aim is to make the state more prosperous with the help of the people-friendly schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa.
In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK is the largest partner in NDA alliance. It is natural that the Chief Minister will be from largest partner.
— C T Ravi 🇮🇳 ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) December 30, 2020
At present, Thiru @CMOTamilNadu is Our Chief Minister. Once Elections are announced, the NDA Co-ordination Committee will announce the CM candidate.
Tamil Nadu Assembly polls
In a significant political milestone in TN politics, AIADMK returned to power in 2016 under the leadership of Jayalalithaa for a successive term. In the 234-member Assembly, AIADMK won a whopping 135 seats in contrast to DMK whose candidates could win from 98 constituencies. However, Jayalalithaa's untimely demise on December 5, 2016, led to a vacuum in her party which was initially filled by O Panneerselvam. However, her close confidante VK Sasikala was elected as the General Secretary of the party and sought to take over as the CM of the state in February 2017.
While Panneerselvam resigned from his post and backed her candidature, he subsequently rebelled against her. After the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case, her camp picked E Palaniswami as Panneerselvam's replacement. On August 21, 2017, AIADMK factions led by the CM and Panneerselvam merged and paved way for the removal of Sasikala from the party. Thereafter, her nephew TTV Dhinakaran formed the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.
In the Assembly election due in April-May 2021, DMK is perceived as the principal challenger to AIADMK as it swept 38 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 General Election. While filmstar Rajinikanth has decided against taking a political plunge, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam is also in the poll fray. On the other hand, Sasikala's release from jail in January 2021 is likely to further impact the political scenario in the state.
18:30 IST, December 31st 2020