Coimbatore: Former state minister, AIADMK leader S P Velumani accused BJP state chief K Annamalai of causing the rift between AIADMK and BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Velumani said that if the alliance had remained intact, they could have secured 30-35 seats.
Although Annamalai dismissed Velumani’s claims, former Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, who unsuccessfully contested from the Chennai South constituency, supported Velumani’s perspective. The DMK alliance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election won all 39 seats.
“What Velumani said is realistic. The DMK would not have won all the seats if the BJP had been in alliance with the AIADMK,” Dr. Tamilisai told reporters in Chennai. “This is electoral arithmetic. An alliance is a political strategy… Velumani’s view is realistic and should be accepted,” she stated.
Annamalai, however, questioned Velumani’s logic, asking how it could be valid when the AIADMK failed to secure even a single seat on its own. Velumani countered by saying the AIADMK had respected alliance commitments, while Annamalai had unnecessarily criticized AIADMK leaders, including C N Annadurai, J Jayalalithaa, and Edappadi K Palaniswami.
“It was Annamalai who spoke out of turn, not us. He was the reason for the alliance breakdown,” Velumani said, adding that he believed the alliance could have won 30-35 seats if the BJP had stayed with them. He also noted that leaders such as Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan and L Murugan had never insulted AIADMK leaders during their tenure with the BJP.
Velumani urged Annamalai to cease his criticisms of the AIADMK and to focus on fulfilling his election promises. He also highlighted that Annamalai received fewer votes than BJP leader C P Radhakrishnan had in previous contests.
“We have learned our lesson. We will work hard to ensure a victory for the AIADMK in the 2026 assembly election,” Velumani said. Responding to these comments, Annamalai simply told reporters at the airport that Velumani had his facts wrong.