Chennai: Taunted by the Congress to face the coming Lok Sabha polls alone, the ruling AIADMK Wednesday hit back, saying it was strong enough and prepared for fighting the elections on its own provided other parties in Tamil Nadu also go without allies. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam made the remarks in the assembly after the Congress asked the ruling party to assess its strength in the post-Jayalalithaa era.
During the debate on the budget, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader K R Ramasamy said the AIADMK should prove its strength by facing the polls without allies, saying it has not faced a major election after the demise of late chief minister and party supremo J Jayalalithaa in 2016. The AIADMK had lost the only poll held after her demise — the December 2017 RK Nagar bypoll held to fill the vacancy created by her death, Ramasamy said.
He also made some remarks which seemed to indicate the AIADMK was under some kind of ‘problem’ vis-a-vis a possible alliance with the BJP, to which Panneerselvam shot back saying the party and the government were strong. Ramasamy claimed no party will join hands with the AIADMK if it aligned with the BJP and exuded confidence that the Congress will come back to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Panneerselvam retorted saying following the “blow” dealt by DMK founder late C N Annadurai to the Congress by unseating its government in the state in 1967 elections, the national party has been riding “piggy-back” on one of the two major Dravidian parties — AIADMK or DMK — to face elections. School Education Minister KA Sengkottaiyan recalled that the AIADMK had in the past won absolute majority by facing the polls without any allies.
