It is the BJP “once more” for former Rajya Sabha member V Maitreyan, who was expelled from the AIADMK last year, and joined the BJP on Friday for the second-time.
Maitreyan was in the BJP before joining the AIADMK more than two decades ago and was considered a close aide to its late leader J Jayalalithaa who sent him to Rajya Sabha thrice.
He joined the BJP here at the party headquarters in the presence of its national general secretaries Arun Singh and CT Ravi.
Before re-joining the party, Maitreyan met the party president JP Nadda and presented him with a bouquet. He is an
old BJP hand and follower of RSS.
Soon after taking the BJP membership, he expressed confidence that the “lotus” will bloom in Tamil Nadu in 2024 and 2026, when Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are due respectively. “I returned to the BJP after 23 years. Arun Jaitley was my good friend and Dharmendra Pradhan is my good friend. Modi is visionary leader”, he said. Maitreyan was an AIADMK MP for 18 years.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Maitreyan told reporters that he is not merely a name but the “mission and vision” of a resurgent India which is making rapid strides in different fields.
He was expelled by the current AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami for “anti-party activities”
With the BJP’s ties with the AIADMK are seen to be far from smooth despite Palaniswami’s assertions that their alliance continues, BJP general secretary Ravi said his party has been playing the role of a real Opposition in the State even though it has only four MLAs. It is fighting the DMK Government over people’s issues, he said.