"When Someone Tried To Break India": Raghav Chadha On AIADMK-BJP Split

Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha on Monday took a break from wedding preps - the Rajya Sabha MP is expected to marry actor Parineeti Chopra in Rajasthan this month - to take a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party after it was dumped by Tamil Nadu ally All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Mr Chadha - whose AAP is part of the INDIA bloc - quoted a NDTV alert - and said, "Whenever someone tried to break INDIA, it itself broke and disintegrated... same thing happened today..."

"Our INDIA alliance was strong yesterday and is strong even today... but sadly the NDA (the BJP-led national alliance) which throws stones at other people's houses could not save its own house."

Mr Chadha's comment comes amid reports of disagreements and infighting within INDIA, particularly as it negotiates seat-sharing pacts in Bengal, Delhi and Punjab. 

READ | Need To Fight Together With INDIA Bloc: Sonia Gandhi's Unity Message

The AAP is the ruling party in the latter two states and there are whispers that some within the party do not look kindly on an alliance with the Congress. And in Bengal (and Kerala) there are more than mere whispers after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it would not ally with anyone.

READ | Left Blow To INDIA Unity? No Bengal, Kerala Tie-Ups, Say Sources

The CPIM's main rivals are the Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool.

Nilotpal Basu, a former Rajya Sabha MP, told NDTV "there are differences (within INDIA)... it is a reality" but left his foot in the door, saying the decision "doesn't negate a (future) alliance".

However, in Tamil Nadu the Congress and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - the AIADMK's sworn rival - have all but agreed terms to continue what has been, so far, a successful alliance.

AIADMK v BJP In Tamil Nadu?

Earlier today senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said his party had broken ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party with the 2024 Lok Sabha election and state polls around the corner. 

The party is furious about BJP state unit leader K Annamalai's comments on the late CN Annadurai, who was AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran's mentor.

READ | AIADMK Says No BJP Alliance For Now, Will Decide Before Polls

Mr Annamalai frequently mocks both his ally and rival - - leading to talk the BJP is trying to play one Dravidian party against the other to create space for itself in a state that has historically rejected it.

However, top BJP sources have told NDTV the squabble will be sorted out.