Chennai: The BJP’s failure to accept DMDK’s Vijayakanth as the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate appears to have cost the party dearly. The BJP leadership, who refused to accept that the party became politically isolated once again, has now commenced negotiations with smaller parties.
Sources in the saffron party maintain that the party had hesitated to accept Vijayakanth as NDA’s CM candidate and its announcement on not naming the NDA’s CM candidate seemed to have coerced the DMDK leadership to snub the saffron party.
Unlike MDMK chief Vaiko who was unequivocal in taking on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues concerning the Sri Lankan Tamils, Vijayakanth had never criticised the BJP government.
“In fact, it would have been easier to have retained him in the NDA had he been offered to lead the NDA in TN for this Assembly election,” a BJP senior said.
When the issue of who should lead the NDA emerged during the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election before finalising poll alliance, the DMDK was told to accept the BJP under Narendra Modi who was the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate. In return the DMDK was said to have offered to lead the NDA in the elections.
“This kind of agreement, then, was understood to make sure the alliance lasted long. But had his (Vijayakanth) leadership been accepted for this poll, the BJP would have retained a strong ally on its side,” a senior leader who didn’t want to be named said.
“We hesitated to accept him as CM candidate,” BJP’s national executive member L. Ganesan admitted. Asked if the BJP had failed to resurrect the NDA, he replied, “we don’t construe it as failure in forging alliance. We attempted to form an alliance and it was Vijayakanth’s decision to align with PWA,” he added. So, the NDA has now become BJP+ as it will fight the May 16 poll with only some small parties as partners.
BJP holds parleys with IJK
The BJP’s crucial two-day election committee meeting to project the front as BJP + and also to finalise the candidates for May elections commenced on Thursday.
According to sources, the party has finalised the first list of candidates and is likely to release it after approval by the BJP high command. Earlier in the day, at a consultative meeting of the candidates at Kamalalayam — BJP state headquarters here, the candidates were said to have told their state leaders that they were confident on contesting the Assembly election alone.
Despite the confidence expressed by the candidates, the party would accommodate smaller parties like the Indiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK), which held talks with it on Thursday.
The BJP would engage the leaders of the New Justice Party (NJP) in parleys on Friday. On its own the BJP is likely to contest from over 180 seats and allocate the remaining 54 seats to its allies, say sources.
