The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday welcomed the merger of EPS and OPS factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and expressed hope that both the factions will now work as one entity.
Talking to ANI BJP leader S. Prakash said, "I hope both the factions will now work as one entity and work for the betterment of Tamil Nadu. I hope people will not see any of their conflict anymore."
Another BJP leader G.V.L Narsimha Rao dubbed the development as welcome initiative which would benefit the people of Tamil Nadu.
"This is certainly good news for the AIADMK supporters. A united AIADMK is a strong political force. This is also good for the people of Tamil Nadu who will benefit from a stable government. It is a welcome initiative and development for the people of Tamil Nadu," Rao told ANI.
Earlier on Monday, the two warring factions of the AIADMK - one led by Chief Minister E. Palanisamy (EPS) and the other by OPS -led by former chief minister O. Panneerselvam announced a merger, citing that "MGR (M.G. Ramachandran) always wanted to see us united, not split."
The striking part of the merger is that EPS has taken a backseat in the party, declaring OPS as the convenor of the party. EPS will be the co-convenor.
Palanisamy will continue to be the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, while O. Panneerselvam (OPS) took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister under the merged AIADMK government in the state.
Following the development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured all support from the Centre to the Tamil Nadu government.
The Prime Minister took to Twitter and said, "Centre assures all possible support to CM Edappadi K Palaniswami & Dy CM O Panneerselvam for the growth of Tamil Nadu."
However, the decision did not go down well AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran who dubbed the merger a 'business agreement between power hungry people.'
Dinakaran's supporters will also meet Tamil Nadu Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao on Tuesday seeking withdrawal of merger.
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