PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has decided that his party will continue its alliance with the BJP only if he is offered a Union ministerial post, party sources said in Chennai.
The decision is learnt to have emerged from consultations Anbumani held with senior PMK functionaries after the recent Assembly election, in which the party contested 18 seats in the AIADMK–BJP alliance and won four.
Sources also pointed to the shifting political landscape in Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister Vijay is said to share a cordial relationship with Anbumani, facilitated by political strategist John Arokiyasamy, who earlier worked with Anbumani in the 2016 Assembly election and is now advising Vijay. However, the PMK has not joined the TVK government, while Vijay has aligned politically with the VCK and allotted it a ministerial berth.
With the AIADMK-led alliance facing uncertainty due to internal splits after the election, and the BJP also seen as weighing its next steps, PMK leaders say Anbumani has set a clear condition: if a Union minister post is offered to him as a Rajya Sabha MP, the party may stay with the BJP; otherwise, it could operate independently until the 2029 Lok Sabha election.
