Tamil Maanila Congress-Moopanar President and former Union Minister G.K. Vasan made a significant announcement on Monday, revealing that the party would be aligning with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to reporters at the party's headquarters, Vasan emphasized that the alliance would solidify in the days to come. He also assured that the distribution of seats among the alliance partners in the NDA would be decided upon after considering various factors.
K. Annamalai, the President of BJP in Tamil Nadu, echoed Vasan's sentiments and highlighted that the misconception about the BJP's stance on minorities would be dispelled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He commended Vasan for initiating a transformation in Tamil Nadu's political landscape ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and 2026 Assembly elections.
The resurgence of TMC-Moopanar occurred in November 2014 after it had previously merged with the Congress in August 2002. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it allied with the AIADMK-BJP coalition, with N.R. Natarajan contesting from the Thanjavur constituency. However, Natarajan lost to the DMK candidate S.S. Palanimanickam. Following this, Vasan was nominated by the AIADMK to the Rajya Sabha.
After the AIADMK terminated its alliance with the BJP in September 2023, and party General Secretary and former Chief Minister K. Palaniswamy openly declared no plans for a future alliance, the BJP turned to Vasan, banking on his personal connection with the AIADMK chief.
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