Days after the BJP lost its biggest partner, ADMK, from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the saffron camp is taking efforts to cure the wounded ties with an aim of reviving the damaged camaraderie with the ADMK at a high time when the tensions between both the parties in Tamil Nadu have sparked chaos and crisis at a national level. 

The efforts to bring the lost alliance back to the business are visible through some recent events, even as Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai, who was instrumental for the alliance break-up, has been camped in Delhi to appease the BJP's central leadership and to win a backing for his command in the state unit. ADMK had been a crucial player in the BJP's alliance for over four years and they endured a fragile friendship, that has finally got destroyed recently. 

Recently, the ADMK leadership announced that it has passed a resolution to break the ties with the BJP in the wake of incessant attacks and derogatory statements from Annamalai against the party. The ADMK, after years of internal crisis, has got a single leadership as the party is now led by its general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami. While the ADMK has established an alliegance to the BJP regime, Annamalai came as a trouble as he played spoilsport in the BJP-ADMK alliance.  

Annamalai's style of criticizing the ADMK leaders didn't go well with the alliance and that his controversial tenure as the Tamil Nadu BJP chief has marked the loss of BJP's important partner in the electorate, ADMK. By severing ties with the BJP, the ADMK has passed a resolution directly accusing Annamalai of insulting the ADMK leaders and cadres and hurting the party's sentiments. Though the central BJP didn't immediately react to the ADMK's exit, it was deeply shocked as it has lost a party that had more MLAs after the BJP in the alliance. 

Though the cadres of both the parties celebrated the exit of ADMK, the high commands weren't as happy as the ground level functionaries. Despite ADMK leader Edappadi Palaniswami vowed that the ties with the BJP won't be revived, certain key leaders in ADMK have rolled up their sleeves to work for the revival of the alliance with the BJP. While some BJP cadres back Annamalai and his decision to contest solo in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, top leaders assert that ADMK's support would become crucial if BJP wants to defeat DMK in the state. 

Now, in the midst of Annamalai's camping in Delhi, latest events suggest that both the parties to trying to resolve the crisis and to redeem the broken ties. As the central BJP leadership is turning red on Annamalai over his flawed and immatured leadership that had pushed ADMK to leave the alliance, the party is now bringing up some temporary changes sans Annamalai.  

While the party has decided to form a committee in the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, the leadership has tasked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to submit a report about the alliance break-up with the ADMK. In the absence of Annamalai, Nirmala Sitharaman has been monitoring the party's affairs in the state and she is been backed by top rivals of Annamalai in the party. 

Will the alliance be back? 

When Annamalai is in Delhi, the second-line leaders of Tamil Nadu BJP had held a meeting in Chennai after which they expressed interest to revive the ties with the ADMK. Speaking to the reporters on Tuesday, Tamil Nadu BJP vice president VP Duraisamy said that the party is interested to continue its alliance with ADMK. Responding to a question about Annamalai's meet with the central BJP leaders in Delhi, Duraisamy said, "There will be a good decision, which will make you happy." 

"The alliance with ADMK will continue and the senior leaders are working on that", Duraisamy added. Responding to a question about what would be the decision from Delhi, BJP leader Sudhakar Reddy said, "We can't tell everything. This is our party matter." Asked whether BJP is still in the ADMK alliance, Reddy further said, "We already said in an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner, our party high command will take a call." 

Interestingly, on Tuesday - October 3, three ADMK MLAs - Amul Kandasamy (Valparai constituency), Varadharaj Jayaraman (Pollachi constituency), and AK Selvaraj (Tirupur South constituency) had met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Coimbatore and BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan was also in the attendance. It is the first time that the ADMK MLAs had apparently met a senior BJP leader after the alliance break-up and their meeting has drawn a sharp attention. 

The three MLAs are from the Kongu belt in the western part of the state that remains as ADMK's fortress and the meeting has come when there are speculations that veteran ADMK leader SP Velumani is revolting against Edappadi Palaniswami and to split the party for exiting the BJP alliance. It is pertinent to note that most of the ADMK MLAs are staunch supporters of Velumani and the MLAs meeting with the senior BJP Minister, close to the high command, has raised serious doubts whether such a revolt is in the making. 

It would further challenge the leadership of Edappadi Palaniswami, who is firm on the party's decision to leave the BJP alliance. On Monday, he said that the decision to exit the BJP alliance was not his own decision but the decision of the two crore cadres of the party. While Palaniswami stands firm that ADMK won't revive its alliance with BJP, the statement from VP Duraisamy and the meeting of ADMK MLAs with a Union Minister are setting stage for a new political game.