IADMK chief E Palaniswami met Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday, sparking rumours of a re-alliance between their two parties ahead of next year's Tamil Nadu election.
However, Mr Palaniswami, or EPS, as he is known, downplayed that speculation. "Poll alliances are discussed closer to elections... nothing now," Mr Palaniswami - who led his party away from the BJP two years ago, in an attempt to revive political fortunes that have been falling since the death of ex-Chief Minister and party icon J Jayalalithaa in 2016 - said after the meeting.
Stressing there was no alliance talk, he said the meeting was to discuss people's "issues" and the disbursal of funds for railways projects and the MNREGA employment guarantee scheme.
EPS said he also urged Mr Shah to investigate the alleged TASMAC case and called for stringent action against the guilty, referring to claims by the Enforcement Directorate of a Rs 1,000 crore scam as bottle-making companies, in collusion with distilleries siphon off cash.
The alleged scam has drawn parallels to that which roiled the AAP in Delhi and helped the BJP win that election.
The alleged TASMAC scam is set to become a major issue in next year's election, with the 'Hindi imposition' and delimitation rows, as the BJP tries to win a state that has historically rejected it.
The BJP has negligible presence in the state and is not expected to win seats without allying with a Dravidian party.
"I raised the collapsing law-and-order situation in Tamil Nadu... the safety of women... the liquor and drugs menace. And I urged the centre to not permit the Makedatu project," he said.
The project is the construction of a reservoir across the Cauvery river in Karnataka's Ramanagara district. This, Tamil Nadu has argued, will reduce water flowing downstream to it.
The AIADMK and BJP were allies for the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 state elections but lost both - to the DMK-Congress pair - by large margins.
Ties between the AIADMK and BJP deteriorated rapidly after 2021, with the latter's state unit chief, K Annamalai, taking pot shots at the Tamil party's past and present leaders, including founder and ex-Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, who has legendary status in the state.
The AIADMK demanded Mr Annamalai apologise, which he refused to do, and so, in September 2023, a few months before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the parties split. Since then there has been talk of the two resuming their alliance, but it never became anything more than that.
The AIADMK today is a divided house, with power struggles between OPS, TTV Dhinakaran, and Sasikala at the forefront. Reuniting with the BJP might help consolidate those factions.
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