On May 11, when All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo J Jayalalithaa was acquitted of all corruption charges by the Karnataka High Court, prime minister Narendra Modi promptly called to congratulate her. “Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary leader) Amma and extended his greetings,” said an official release from the AIADMK.When Jayalalithaa assumed office on May 23, once again as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, PM Modi wished her, along with a bevy of colleagues. “PM @narendramodi congratulates Jayalalithaa ji on taking oath as CM of Tamil Nadu and conveys his best wishes to her & her team,” tweeted the prime minister’s official handle.On the same day, finance minister Arun Jaitley, in a press conference in New Delhi, wished her warmly and promised to support the state’s welfare schemes. This came in the wake of visible bonhomie between state BJP leaders and the AIADMK at the swearing-in ceremony.All these developments are in stark contrast to events in the recent past. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the found of Hindu nationalism and the organisation from which the BJP draws both ideology and volunteers, and the ruling AIADMK have been engaged in an acrimonious political contest. Last November, 24,000 RSS volunteers were arrested across the state to prevent the organisation from holding marches.Does the explicit geniality between the top rung of both the AIADMK and the BJP mean that their equations have changed? The BJP’s friendly overtures to Jayalalithaa should not surprise. The nationalist party, despite its brute majority in the Lok Sabha, has been acutely made aware of its lack of numbers in the Rajya Sabha and needs all the support it can garner to pass important legislative bills.Only, the changed attitude has put both the RSS and the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP in a spot. The RSS unit is actually livid at the BJP national leadership’s overtures to the AIADMK. “This is the worst government ever in Tamil Nadu,” said a senior RSS leader on condition of anonymity. “The current AIADMK government has not allowed us to perform even our routine activities like route marches and camps in schools. Verbal orders are given to the police and they harass us. Look at the number of murders of RSS functionaries that have taken place in the state since this government came to power. The AIADMK is simply not bothered about probing all these,” he said.The RSS leader also told ET Magazine that this message had been passed in no uncertain terms to the RSS leadership in Nagpur. “We have informed the top leadership that the cadres are not happy with an alliance with the AIADMK,” he said. “Some people in the BJP who do not come from an RSS background may think that it would be a good idea to ally with the AIADMK but the RSS cannot accept that,” he added. Publicly, however, the RSS maintains that they have no role to play in politics. “We [also] never interfere in alliance formation,” said N Sadagopan, RSS spokesperson in Tamil Nadu.“Where has the equation changed?” laughed H Raja, a national secretary of the BJP. “There is no party-to-party relationship, although the leaders of each party may have good relations. The BJP in Tamil Nadu is in the process of consolidating the party. We cannot decide on alliances right now — that is up to the national leadership. I cannot predict what will happen and who will come into the NDA fold,” he said.But groups within the BJP appear to be split on the issue of Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK. BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan was conspicuous by her absence at the swearing-in of Jayalalithaa earlier this month. Soundararajan said she did not receive an invitation to the event. “I have only been voicing my party’s stand and the thoughts of the people. There is no personal attack on anyone. Politics in Tamil Nadu needs to change and we will provide the alternative,” she said.Political analysts said it is in the BJP’s interests to ally with the AIADMK but whether Jaya plays ball is in the realm of conjecture. “The BJP may want an alliance but Jayalalithaa is keeping her cards close to her chest,” said C Lakshmanan, political analyst and professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies. “There is no doubt that the BJP or any other political party will stand to gain if there is an alliance with the AIADMK but AIADMK will neither gain nor lose anything. We will have to watch the next three months as Jaya will be apprehensive about an appeal in Supreme Court on her case,” he said.The NDA in Tamil Nadu is already in a mess, with Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam quitting the alliance soon after the Lok Sabha polls. Ramadoss’ Pattali Makkal Katchi too has been criticising the BJP openly although no formal break has been announced till date. Vijaykanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam remains a mute spectator. Now, with the RSS muddying waters in the electoral arena in the state, the BJP is likely to be caught once again between a rock and a hard place.(The writer is a freelance journalist based in Chennai)