AIADMK declares Jayalalithaa as its PM candidate

Jayalalithaa, however, says she is yet to decide on the matter

The ruling AIADMK party in Tamil Nadu today declared its leader and Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa as prime ministerial candidate.

However, Jayalalithaa said this was the decision of the party and she was yet to decide whether to present herself as a prime ministerial candidate.

At the party’s general council, held in Chennai on Thursday, a resolution was passed to make Jayalalithaa the prime ministerial candidate, describing her as an “unparalleled patriot”. The party cadres noted her opposition to the Indo-US agreement on energy, Chinese intrusion into India and the Lankan atrocities on Tamils.

The resolution urged the party cadres to work hard so as to win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and create a situation for Jayalalithaa to become the Prime Minister.

It was pointed out that the country had seen Prime Ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and time was now ripe for a person from Tamil Nadu to become the Prime Minister.

Jayalalithaa said nothing could prevent the party from reaching the Red Fort in Delhi and by the time the next general council meeting is held, the party should be in a position to lead the nation.

Earlier in the meeting, she came down heavily on the Congress-led government in the Centre and said there should be a change at the Centre. “The centre is taking revenge on the people of Tamil Nadu. The Centre is giving step motherly treatment to Tamil Nadu,” she said, pointing out that sanction was not given to power projects in the state and also there was reduction in kerosene allocation to the state among others.

Blaming the Centre for power shortage, she said: “Most of the central power generating units have developed snags all of a sudden.”

On national security, she said, even small neighbouring countries were now threatening India and the Centre was not able to manage it.

The council also condemned the Centre's decision to train Sri Lankan army personnel in India and the holding of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the island nation.