india

Updated: Jul 18, 2019 01:23 IST

Tamil Nadu minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O S Manian on Wednesday said his party’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Paty (BJP) ended after the April-May national polls.

“Alliances are made for elections. As far as I understand, the alliance between the AIADMK and BJP ended when the elections were completed. Now, we are having only just government-to-government contact,” said Manian.

The AIADMK and BJP alliance lost 37 of 38 Lok Sabha seats they contested in an alliance in Tamil Nadu.

The AIADMK has not involved the BJP in its campaign for the Vellore Lok Sabha poll on August 18. The election was postponed because of large cash seizure.

“Ambur, Kudiyatham and KV Kuppam assembly seats under Vellore Lok Sabha seat have a huge chunk of minorities’ votes. Therefore, our leaders are reluctant to invite BJP leaders for campaigning,” said an AIADMK functionary on condition of anonymity. BJP state secretary Karu Nagarajan said if the alliance would have won, things would have been fine. “In the case of lost elections, it is natural somewhere, some rebel voices will come out. So, by merely considering this, we should not decide that there is a tussle in the alliance... The relationship is cordial,” Nagarajan said while brushing aside Manian’s comments.

Political analyst Selvaraj Sankaraiah said the AIADMK managed to win nine assembly by-polls to ensure the longevity of its state government. He added it has made the AIADMK more assertive in its partnership with the BJP.