Both factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam -- one led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and the other by former CM O Panneerselvam – have decided to support National Democratic Alliance’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind for the July 17 polls.
Hours after AIADMK (Amma), led by Palaniswami, announced its support to Kovind, the rebel faction led by Pannerselvam also followed, voicing confidence that he will perform as a ‘good administrator’.
The ruling faction’s announcement came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rang up Palaniswami to seek his party's support for the NDA nominee.
The Purtchi Thalaivi Amma faction said the decision was taken at a consultative meeting chaired by Pannerselvam with senior colleagues on Thursday morning.
Panneerselvam said Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah had sought support from him for Kovind and the matter was discussed with senior functionaries of the faction on Thursday, besides MPs and MLAs owing allegiance to him.
“Based on that and heeding BJP president Amit Shah’s request, it has been unanimously decided to back Kovind,” he told reporters in Chennai.
An ‘opportunity’ has been provided for a member of the Dalit community to be elected to the President’s office, and ‘for providing that opportunity (to Kovind), we have decided to support him’, Panneerselvam added.
Asked if the faction, which has 12 MPs and an equal number of MLAs, was supporting Kovind since he hailed from the Dalit community, Panneerselvam said the presidential nominee has been a former MP twice, besides having served as governor of Bihar, and was, therefore, ‘experienced’.
“We are confident he will perform as a good administrator,” he said when asked about Kovind’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh background and reports that opposition Congress may also field a Dalit candidate against NDA’s pick.
On Wednesday evening, a press release issued by the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai recalled the PM calling up Palaniswami, who is also party headquarters secretary, seeking support for Kovind and said the matter was discussed by the high command.
Based on the deliberations, it was decided to unanimously extend support to Kovind, the release said.
Earlier, party leader T T V Dinakaran had said in Bengaluru after meeting his aunt V K Sasikala in a jail there that AIADMK (Amma)'s stand on backing the NDA presidential nominee would be decided by her.
He had told reporters, “It (the party’s stand on presidential poll) will be decided by party’s General Secretary Sasikala.”
Asked whether the party would support Kovind, he had said, “That also will be decided by (party) general secretary.”
IMAGE: NDA presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind. Photograph: PTI Photo
