Jayalalithaa expels former minister for suggesting alliance with BJP - Livemint

Jayalalithaa is perceived to be close to Modi because she invited him to her swearing-in ceremony in 2011 when she became chief minister for the third time. Photo: Saisen/Mint

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday expelled K. Malaisamy from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) after the ex-member of Parliament hinted at the possibility of an alliance with Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expected by pollsters to be the next prime minister.

Malaisamy told NDTV news channel on Wednesday, “Modi is a great friend of Jayalalithaa; they may differ politically. If he becomes PM then madam would like close ties.”

“We will wait for the results on Friday and will not comment until then,” Jayalalithaa told reporters on Wednesday when asked about an alliance with Modi.

The party said on Thursday Malaisamy had been expelled because he had brought disrepute to the party.

Jayalalithaa is perceived to be close to Modi because she invited him to her swearing-in ceremony in 2011 when she became chief minister for the third time.

At the hustings in this year’s general election, however, Jayalalithaa often said Tamil Nadu fared better than Gujarat in several economic indicators.