Over a dozen Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries in Tamil Nadu have quit the party to join its alliance partner, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) citing their unhappiness with their leadership, reports said on Wednesday.?

According to an ANI report, all 13 people who resigned belonged to the BJP’s IT Wing in Chennai West.?

Among those who resigned included the party’s state IT Wing head CTR Nirmal Kumar and state secretary Dilip Kannan.?

Kumar, who was among the first to quit the party, had cited his reasons blaming BJP’s TN unit chief K Annamalai. Kannan and three others, including a woman functionary of the BJP, followed suit and joined the AIAMK in presence of its interim chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, an AIADMK release had said. Subsequently, others from the IT Wing also resigned.

The party’s IT Wing district president Anbarasan, in a statement, as reported by ANI, wrote, “I have worked for BJP for years. People know I have never expected any position. Considering the unusual scenario in the party for the past few days I have decided to resign from the party.”

BJP sports and skill development cell State president Amar Prasad Reddy reacted to the resignations in a tweet, saying, "AIADMK being an alliance partner shouldn't have done this. BJP under the leadership of Thalaivar @annamalai_k will form government in Tamil Nadu."

Meanwhile, BJP state president Annamalai expressed displeasure, accusing the Palaniswami-led party of “poaching”.?

AIADMK IT Wing secretary Singai Ramachandran hit back at the allegations on Twitter, saying BJP won the 2021 elections only because of its alliance with the AIADMK. “Once BJP was getting votes lesser than NOTA. In the 2021 election, how BJP MLAs won the election is the answer for this… It’s only a joke to say to develop AIADMK, BJP persons are needed,” he tweeted.
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