The state unit of the BJP hopes to cash in on the popularity Modi
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Chennai: The state unit of the BJP hopes to cash in on the popularity of its leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, especially his pro development initiatives and emerge as a serious contender in the 2016 Assembly elections. For the saffron party the polls, next year, is a mission to unseat the Dravidian rule in Tamil Nadu.
This is a Herculean task for the party, which has not seen its presence felt in the state Assembly for about two decades juxtaposed to the ruling AIADMK, which stormed the 2011 Assembly polls winning 150 seats (out of 234) on its own and its historic win in 2014 Lok Sabha elections literally overrunning all parties and securing 37 (out of 39) Parliamentary seats. Nevertheless, the BJP has fair chances of entering the Assembly with modest numbers this time given the rising popularity of Mr Modi.
“Anyone can be announced as Chief Ministerial candidate, like Anbumani (PMK leader) has been announced, but it is the candidate who becomes the Chief Minister that matters most,” declared BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, against the backdrop of a heightened political rhetoric and poll assurances by almost all opposition parties which have declared a war on the ruling AIADMK even before elections are notified.
Putting to rest speculations on whether the PMK still continued to remain in the BJP-led NDA after winning a seat in last year’s Lok Sabha polls, gratis BJP, she said Dr Anbumani is not NDA’s CM candidate. She said that NDA would be strengthened to emerge as alternate force to both the AIADMK and the DMK.
CPI to face assembly polls as part of People’s welfare front:
Despite opposition from a section of party leaders against “hurried” conversion of the four-party led People's Welfare Front into an electoral alliance, CPI has decided to face the 2016 state Assembly polls as part of the front.
The decision to this effect was taken at the two-day state executive meeting chaired by its general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy. A senior CPI leader said that a resolution has been adopted at the meeting welcoming the conversion of the front into an electoral alliance. "We have already decided to be part of the front. But we are formally declaring it through a resolution," the leader said.
PWF comprising MDMK, CPI (M), CPI and VCK was expected to make a formal declare conversion of the front into an electoral combine for the 2016 state assembly polls on October 23 but it was postponed to November 2.
Sources in PWF said that the announcement was not made on October 23 as CPI state secretary R. Mutharasan did not turn up for the meeting. “Hence we decided to postpone the announcement to November 2 to enable CPI to formally decide on its stand,” sources added. Senior CPI leader said that formal announcement of the electoral alliance would be made on November 2 when the leaders of front meets at MDMK headquarters Thayagam.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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