NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI, JUNE 9
In a sort of ‘home coming’(ghar wapsy), Dr V Maitreyan, a former Rajya Sabha MP and organising secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday at a programme in New Delhi.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Dr. V. Maitreyan joins BJP at Party Headquarters in New Delhi. #JoinBJP https://t.co/NnJdd2O6z7
— BJP (@BJP4India) June 9, 2023
- In a recent meeting with AIADMK general secretary Edappady K Palanisamy-led team, Shah had reiterated the continuation of BJP-AIADMK alliance in the LS polls.
He was welcomed by BJP national general secretaries CT Ravi (in charge of Tamil Nadu), Arun Singh and party spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam.
He was expelled from the AIADMK last year.
Dr Maitreyan who had been with the BJP prior to 2000, joining the AIADMK thereafter expressed confidence that the “lotus” (BJP’s electoral symbol) will bloom in Tamil Nadu in 2024 and 2026, when Lok Sabha and assembly polls are due respectively.
Dr Maitreyan joining the BJP not just at a time when the party is looking to project itself in Tamil Nadu in a serious way, but also when its ties with the AIADMK seem to be far from smooth.
This happening despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s intervention in putting an end to TN BJP chief’s bid to go solo in Lok Sabha polls. In a recent meeting with AIADMK general secretary Edappady K Palanisamy-led team, Shah had reiterated the continuation of BJP-AIADMK alliance in the LS polls.