BJP to firm up allies during PM’s sixth visit to Tamil Nadu
The single-phase elections will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 19 and nominations for the same will start on March 20
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Tamil Nadu on a two-day visit from March 18 — his sixth visit to the state since January, people familiar with the developments said. Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s former ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is struggling to cobble up an alliance, the BJP leaders said that they are “likely to finalise their seat sharing deals with other regional parties” close on the heels of the Prime Minister’s visit.
The single-phase elections will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 19 and nominations for the same will start on March 20.
The Prime Minister’s visit was mired in a controversy after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led state government refused permission for his rally in Coimbatore on March 18 citing security reasons since he was to take the route where a blast had occurred in 1998 ahead of senior BJP leader L K Advani’s visit.
The Madras high court, however, favoured the BJP setting aside the police order. This comes amid the speculation that BJP state president K Annamalai has been asked to contest from Coimbatore–which he has not yet confirmed.
Following Coimbatore, Modi will visit Salem on March 19. Modi was last here on March 15 when he visited the Kanyakumari district–a constituency the BJP won in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “This is the first time that a Prime Minister has visited the state five times in three months which clearly shows our focus,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
“We will announce our alliances shortly and they may share the stage with the Prime Minister in Salem.”
The DMK which is part of the INDIA bloc has inked a seat sharing formula similar to that in 2019. The DMK will contest in 21 constituencies – two seats less than what they contested in 2019. DMK’s main ally Congress will battle in nine seats.
The remaining nine seats are being contested by allies Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK-2), CPI (M)-2, CPI-2, IUML-1, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK-1), Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK-1).
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) will be campaigning for the DMK led alliance and has been promised a Rajya Sabha seat.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK led by Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) has not yet announced any allies yet.
It is the first election of EPS since he took over the party reigns after expelling Panneerselvam and his supporters. EPS has also stuck to his decision not to have any truck with the BJP after they came together for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Expelled AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) has joined the BJP’s alliance. After the AIADMK walked out, the allies who were remaining in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) such as the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) have been in talks with the Dravidian major as well as the BJP. The AIADMK is ahead in talks with the DMDK but has been unable to strike a deal with the PMK.
The BJP has been trying hard to gain a foothold in the southern state where since 1967, the DMK and AIADMK have governed the state and no national party has been able to make a mark.
