AFTER SPLIT WITH BJP, AIADMK SEEKS NEW ALLIES

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (AIADMK) recent decision to walk away from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and thus the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is changing dynamics in Tamil Nadu politics. On 2 October, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami stated that the decision was taken by the party cadres and there will be no going back on this.

- LATHA SRINIVASAN

EPS added, "We have announced our stand on alliance questions. We will form a mega alliance under the leadership of the AIADMK. Headquarters' office bearers, district secretaries, MPs, and MLAs aired the views of the 2 crore AIADMK cadres at our party meeting last week." So which parties will the AIADMK now seek out for this new mega alliance? At the Monday meeting, EPS indicated that they would reach out to the minority communities like the Muslims and Christians, which they had stayed away from due to the BJP alliance. According to some AIADMK leaders, the alliance dharma that the party h