Chennai, Dec 13(BPNS)
The invitation extended by the central leadership of the BJP to deposed leader of the AIADMK, O. Panneerselvam (OPS) for the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister, Bhupendra Yadav is a clear indicator of the BJP for a patch-up in the AIADMK which is its partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)..
It is to be noted that the former Chief Minister and deposed leader of the AIADMK, O. Panneerselvam (OPS) is in political wilderness after his expulsion from the party and the rival group of present interim general secretary ,Edappadi K. Palaniswami(EPS) has gained an upperhand.
However OPS has a huge strength in his fiefdom of South Tamil Nadu and his community, the Thevar’s who have been an ardent vote bank for the AIADMK. The expelled interim general secretary of the party and former close aide of late Chief Minister V.K. Sasikala is also a Thevar and the community elders had already taken up the matter of their entry to the AIADMK with the central leadership of the party.
The nephew of Sasikala and general secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), TTV Dhinakaran is also a force to reckon with in South Tamil Nadu.
Dr. R. Pandyan, Director of Social Action Movement Tamil Nadu and based out of Tirunelveli while speaking to BPNS said, “ The Thevar community of South Tamil Nadu has always been a back bone of the AIADMK and the community wont forgive the party leadership for expelling OPS who has been a leader who have come up from the rank and file. The combination of OPS, Sasikala, and Dhinakaran can be made use for the BJP and the AIADMK in the next Lok sabha polls and it seems that the central BJP leadership has this point in mind.”
Sources close to OPS told BPNS that the invitation to the former Chief Minister to the swearing-in ceremony of Gujarat Chief Minister is a clear indicator that the BJP national leadership is keen for an alignment with him.
Even though the present interim general secretary of the party, Edappadi K. Palaniswami was also invited to the swearing-in function of the Gujarat Chief Minister but he did not attend the programme citing personal commitments. The BJP national leadership, it is learned is aiming for a patch-up between the two factions and thus looking for a good fight in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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