Ex-TN CM O. Panneerselvam snaps ties with NDA

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O. Panneerselvam-led AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee on Thursday walked out of the BJP-led NDA coalition. Panruti S. Ramachandran, a veteran leader and advisor to the committee, announced the decision.

Speaking to reporters, Ramachandran, flanked by Panneerselvam and panel leaders, said: "Hereafter, the committee will not be a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)."

The decision to move away from the NDA was unanimous, he said answering a question. On behalf of the committee, its chief Panneerselvam will soon commence a tour of several parts of Tamil Nadu and it has been resolved to decide on the question of a future alliance according to political circumstances, he added.

Asked about the reasons for quitting the NDA, Ramachandran said the reason was widely known and there was no necessity to explain it. He expressed confidence that "a right alliance to lead the people in the right direction will materialise in future".

Asked if the BJP has betrayed the Panneerselvam-led panel, Ramachandran said he need not spell out what the BJP did to the committee as the nation knows it.

To a question, Panneerselvam said he met Stalin in Chennai during his morning walk and that he moved on after conveying his pleasantries.

Amid speculation about his next move, when Panneerselvam strongly condemned the Union government on 29 July for not releasing 'Samagra Shiksha' funds to Tamil Nadu, it became clearer that he was preparing to move out of the NDA.

Popularly known as OPS, Panneerselvam's attempt to get an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's visit to Tamil Nadu on 26 and 27 July also did not materialise.

AIADMK general-secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami met the prime minister at Tiruchirappalli airport on the night of 26 July. Also, Panneerselvam was not invited when Union home minister Amit Shah visited the state in recent times.

OPS partnered with the NDA for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the AIADMK was not yet part of the BJP alliance as it had pulled out of the coalition in September 2023. In April this year, the AIADMK revived ties with the BJP.

Panneerselvam, who was expelled from the AIADMK on 11 July 2022, continues to contest the leadership of Palaniswami. Attempts by OPS and his supporters aimed at a rapprochement have so far not yielded results.

To this day, OPS has maintained that he is an "AIADMK man" and has ruled out floating a separate political party, with the BJP top leadership asserting that it would not interfere in the internal affairs of its ally.

Of late, there has been speculation that OPS may strike an alliance with actor-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam for the 2026 Assembly polls as the BJP showed no clear signs of accommodating him.

However, Ramachandran, while speaking to reporters, did not give a categorical answer to a related question.