BJP leader says Modi will lead TN alliance, declines to endorse EPS

BJP leader says Modi will lead TN alliance, declines to endorse EPS

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.12.2020

The AIADMK’s choice of CM candidature for the 2021 assembly election, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, continues to be a bone of contention among allies.

On Wednesday, BJP national general secretary C T Ravi, stirred up trouble when he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lead the NDA alliance in the forthcoming assembly elections, including the one in Tamil Nadu. “The NDA partners’ coordination committee will come together and decide who will be the CM candidate of the alliance once the assembly election schedules are announced,” said Ravi, who is incharge of Tamil Nadu.

He refrained from endorsing Palaniswami. “Our Parliamentary board and NDA’s coordination committee will decide when the alliance gets a majority (after the election results),” he said while responding to a question whether Palaniswami would be the alliance’s CM candidate. He, however, reiterated the alliance with the AIADMK was strong. BJP state president L Murugan echoed similar views. Ravi was in Chennai to take part in an event in which former Indian cricketer-turned–commentator L Sivaramakrishnan took the political plunge and joined BJP.

Meanwhile, PMK president G K Mani said party founder S Ramadoss would announce the CM candidate. “Our party founder will announce the party’s CM candidate closer to the election,” he told reporters.