No problem between BJP and AIADMK; Modi common thread: Annamalai

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Thursday (September 21) admitted there were ideological differences between his party and the AIADMK, but said there were no problems between the two outfits.

The BJP leader also asserted that he does not have any issue with any AIADMK leader. The “common thread” that linked like-minded parties in the BJP-led NDA is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Annamalai pointed out.

All those who accept Modi’s candidature for the post of prime minister in the 2024 Lok Sabha battle are in the NDA alliance, he said. “Does the AIADMK accept it? Yes,” Annamalai said. All those who believe in Modi’s leadership should join hands, he told the media in Coimbatore.

The BJP leader denied speaking ill of Dravidian icon and late Tamil Nadu chief minister CN Annadurai and said he had only recounted an incident from 1956 related to Hindu religion. Hence, there was no question of tendering any apology, he said.

Ideologically, the AIADMK and BJP were divergent but the differences in ideological standpoints were not unusual and “it is not a big deal”, he said. “What is important is the common thread, which is Prime Minister Modi and that the AIADMK stands for a united nation with a strong leadership to guide it,” he added.

(With agency inputs)