AIADMK upset as BJP uses iconic MGR alongside PM in campaign video

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu is reportedly upset with it ally BJP for using the Dravidian party’s iconic founder MG Ramachandran, who is popularly known by his initials ‘MGR’, in a campaign video alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The campaign video was for the saffron party’s ‘Vetrivel yatra’ which had raised a concern between the two friendly parties earlier this week, with BJP going on with its rally despite the ally party’s government banning it over pandemic worries.

Regarding the yatra, which the BJP says it against the alleged anti-Hindu agenda of some outfits, reports quoted senior AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan as saying that the AIADMK is not afraid of the central government and that it is in favour of communal harmony.

The state’s move to withdraw its nod for gatherings of up to 100 further angered BJP, with its general secretary KT Raghavan demanding to know if a case was filed against the Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami for holding a rally with hundreds of party workers at Vellore.

“Hundreds of AIADMK workers were with Chief Minister E Palaniswami at Vellore today as he travelled to Tirupati. Did the police take action? You should first file a case against the Chief Minister. Did you file a case,” reports quoted Raghavan as asking.

The BJP-AIADMK concerns assume significance in the backdrop of the state elections due in less than six months. The elections will see a battle for power between two major Dravidian rivals – AIADMK and DMK, and will be the first since the death of the parties’ iconic leaders, J Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) and M Karunanidhi (DMK), both former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu.