Don’t strain ties with AIADMK, be cordial with OPS: BL Santhosh to cadre

CHENNAI: In a move seen as both a push for the BJP-AIADMK coordination and an indirect message to his protégé and former state president K Annamalai, BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh on Sunday instructed party functionaries to work seamlessly with the AIADMK at the grassroots and avoid actions that could strain the renewed alliance.

He also instructed leaders to maintain cordial ties with former chief minister O Panneerselvam. The directives, issued at the State Core Committee meeting and the State Organisation Working Training Camp at Kamalalayam, the BJP headquarters in T Nagar, were aimed at reinforcing alliance discipline ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

According to senior leaders present, Santhosh made it clear that the alliance was forged solely to dislodge the DMK-led government, which is aligned with the Congress and other national opposition forces. "The BJP entered this alliance without compromising its self-respect. While ideological differences exist, the focus must remain on defeating the DMK," a leader quoted him as saying.

He said organisational responsibilities should not rest entirely on state president Nainar Nagenthran, urging all leaders to execute assigned tasks as per central leadership instructions. Santhosh stressed that booth-level transfer of votes between the BJP and AIADMK must be ensured.

Rejecting speculation about actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam joining the NDA, Santhosh said: "This is our alliance. Some regional outfits may join later, but the focus must be on organisational work and election preparedness." While the meetings covered alliance strategy and grassroots coordination, they did not address the dissatisfaction among some cadres over recent office-bearer appointments. Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan told DT Next that the camp was routine organisational work.

"Such sessions are standard whenever new office-bearers take charge. They help familiarise them with the party's structure and functioning. There was no political negotiation involved, " she said.

The training covered strengthening booth committees, coordinated voter outreach with the AIADMK, social media strategy, internal communication channels, and joint protests against the DMK-led front. Leaders including L Murugan, Kesava Vinayagan, Pon Radhakrishnan, H Raja, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Arvind Menon, Vanathi Srinivasan, Nainar Nagenthran, former president K Annamalai and others were present.