Panneerselvam meets Amit Shah amid talk of his return to the BJP’s fold

Former Chief Minister and coordinator of the ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, met senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah in New Delhi  on Wednesday.

Calling his meeting a ‘courtesy call,’ Mr Panneerselvam told reporters at Chennai airport that he had discussed the political situation in the State with Mr Shah. He did not elaborate further. He did not respond to a question whether the meeting touched upon the Tamila Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor Vijay. 

This was the first meeting that Mr Panneerselvam had with Mr Shah, after he announced in July that he quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).  When the news was out on Tuesday that the former Chief Minister was in New Delhi, this created a political buzz.  It was speculated whether he had gone there to negotiate the terms of his return to the BJP’s fold and how he would do it, given the fact that he and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)’s general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami had not patched up as yet, after the break in July 2022 when he  was expelled from the party.   Mr Palaniswami has been reiterating tht there is no scope for reconciliation with his former colleague. Besides, when Shah announced  the revival of ties between the BJP and the AIADMK in April, he made it clear that his party would not like to “interfere in the internal affairs” of the Dravidian party.

Known for his soft corner towards the national party, Mr Panneerselvam faced the Lok Sabha poll from the Ramanathapuram constituency as an independent as part of the BJP-led NDA in 2024 and finished runner-up.   Prior to the announcement of termination of his relationship with the BJP a few months ago, he condemned the Centre for not releasing funds to the State under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for 2024-25.  After he and Mr  Palaniswami came together in August 2017, he had publicly credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the reunion. In 2019, he was among those who were there to greet Mr Modi in Varanasai at the time of the Prime Minister filing his nomination papers in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.  

In May,  Mr. Panneerselvam expressed disappointment over not being invited during Mr Shah’s visit to Chennai the previous month.  Two months later, his request for a meeting with Mr. Modi was not granted permission when the latter was in Gangaikondacholapuram to take part in the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival. However, Mr. Palaniswam met PM Modi at the Tiruchi airport, along with his senior colleagues.