13 BJP leaders quit party in Tamil Nadu

On Wednesday, 13 members of Tamil Nadu’s BJP left the party to join its alliance partner, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The 13 were members of the BJP’s IT wing in Chennai West. The news comes as the BJP’s state unit accused the Edappadi Palaniswami-led AIADMK of allegedly “poaching” its leaders.

In a statement, BJP IT Wing District President Anbarasan said, “I have worked for BJP for years. People know that I have never expected any position. Considering the unusual scenario in the party for the past few days I have decided to resign from the party.”

Ten IT Wing District Secretaries and two IT Wing District Deputy Secretaries have signed the statement. Several BJP MLAs have recently resigned and joined the AIADMK. After meeting with Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday, BJP Intellectual Wing State Secretary Krishnan, IT Wing State Secretary Dileep Kannan, Trichy Rural District Vice President Vijay, and State OBC Wing Secretary Ammu joined AIADMK.

This came just days after BJP State IT Wing Chief Nirmal Kumar defected to the AIADMK, citing serious allegations against Annamalai. Similarly, BJP IT Wing State Secretary Krishnan resigned, blaming Annamalai. This has sparked a social media battle between AIADMK and BJP supporters. BJP officials questioned how Edappadi Palaniswami, as an alliance partner, could greet them with a smile.

In one such Twitter post, BJP Sports and Skill Development State President Amar Prasad Reddy mentioned “AIADMK being an alliance partner shouldn’t have done this”.

Meanwhile, earlier Annamalai told ANI, “Some four BJP leaders have joined, it’s an unfortunate state in Tamil Nadu where Dravidian politicians who think that they run big parties want to poach from BJP and grow their party. That only shows BJP is growing”.

In response to Annamalai’s remarks, AIADMK IT Wing Secretary Singai Ramachandran tweeted, “Once BJP was getting votes lesser than NOTA. In the 2021 election, how BJP MLAs won the election is the answer for this ( AIADMK – BJP faced the election as allies). AIADMK is the organization that won the election single-handedly. It is only a joke to say to develop AIADMK, BJP persons are needed”.

Even during the Erode East bypoll, there was a war of words between the AIADMK and the BJP, with the AIADMK claiming that the BJP has no role in inter-party issues. It has now become debatable once more.