Published 13:36 IST, November 21st 2020
Before meeting Amit Shah, ex-DMK leader Ramalingam says 'will try to bring Alagiri to BJP'
MK Alagiri's aide KP Ramalingam joins BJP, says he will persuade Alagiri to join the saffron party. Alagiri was expelled from DMK by his father Karunanidhi.
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As the Tamil Nadu polls near, political equations are changing amid reports of internal rift within the AIADMK and BJP alliance. As Home Minister Amit Shah visits the state on Saturday, in a major boost to the saffron party, former DMK MP and Stalin's brother MK Alagiri's aide KP Ramalingam has joined the BJP. After joining the party, Ramalingam addressed the media and said that DMK is not the same as it used to be during DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's time. Alleging that there is no space in the party for expressing opinions, Ramalingam stated that he has good connections with Alagiri and he will persuade him to join the BJP. "I have close relations with MK Alagiri. I will try to bring him to Bharatiya Janta Party," KP Ramalingam said.
MK Alagiri was expelled from DMK by his father Karunanidhi in 2014 and since then he has not been able to return. The internal fights of the Karunanidhi family are an open secret and just one week after Karunanidhi's death in 2018, Alagiri had questioned the leadership of Stalin, despite his father choosing the latter as his political heir. However, Alagiri has been absent from the political landscape for the last six years.
Alagiri denies flaunting new party
With several speculations floating around the creation of a new party by late M Karunanidhi's elder son ahead of the 2021 Assembly Polls, MK Alagiri has categorically denied all the rumours. Confirming that no decision has been taken yet, Alagiri has stated that he will consult his party cadre and then announce the formation if there is. He has also denied the speculated meeting between him and the Union Minister Amit Shah, who is set to visit Chennai on November 21.
Speaking to Republic TV on Tuesday, MK Alagiri said, "There is nothing like that (on forming a new party). Whatever it is, I have already told you all that I will take any new good step further only after consulting with my cadres. All those are rumours and it is false. He (BJP Murugan) has said it, he has given his advice and that is great."
Amit Shah's Chennai visit
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to land in Chennai for his two-day visit to the southern state of Tamil Nadu today. Home Minister Shah will inaugurate a series of developmental projects and meeting representatives of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit and senior leaders of ally AIADMK. The senior BJP leader's visit to Chennai comes as political parties in the state have sounded the poll bugle for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections set to be held in May 2021.
13:36 IST, November 21st 2020