Cadre pressure: Tepid response from AIADM to TN BJP president's padayatra

Chennai, July 29 (IANS) Appears that the AIADMK leadership in Tamil Nadu is not very keen on the padayatra of BJP state president, K. Annamalai in the wake of severe anti-saffron sentiment among the party cadres.

AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi
K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Saturday skipped the inaugural function of the BJP president’s padayatra and instead deputed party leader and MLA Udhayakumar.

Notably, the padayatra, ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ (My land, My people) was flagged off by BJP leader and Union Home minister Amit Shah in the temple town of Rameswaram.

Sources in the AIADMK told IANS that Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) had
given a strong message to Annamalai that he was not equal to the former Chief Minister and hence a lower level party functionary was being deputed.

However, a senior leader of the AIADMK on condition of anonymity, said it's not about the equality between Annamalai and EPS, the party general secretary preferred to stay away from the yatra to convey a message to the cadres that he respects their feelings.

AIADMK, which is in a political alliance with the BJP in Tamil Nadu, is staring at losing the Muslim vote bank which had once dedicatedly voted  for it during the period of MGR and Dr J. Jayalalithaa.

Senior party leaders point out that EPS was under compulsion to have a political alliance with the BJP and that politically, it was a major loss for the Dravidian majority which had ruled Tamil Nadu for the maximum number of years.

AIADMK leadership, in private, told IANS that the yatra of Annamalai was not going to make any difference in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu. It was just for self-publicity to the young IPS officer-turned-politician.

However, party leader and former minister D. Jayakumar rubbished the theory
of a hidden agenda on the part of the AIADMK general secretary saying since it was BJP's political campaign, as an alliance partner EPS had sent a representative.