Shah confirms going with ‘strong’ ally

“I want to assure the people of Tamil Nadu that the BJP is going to contest the elections in a strong alliance with an ally,” he said in his brief remarks on a poll-pact.

Shah’s remarks assume significance as it comes a day after a senior AIADMK leader admitted that the ruling party was in “discreet talks” with the saffron party and some others for an electoral alliance for the Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan too said that the BJP is in talks positively with all political parties.

“Except our opposition DMK and Congress, the BJP is in alliance talks with all parties. Once the alliance is firmed up, we will announce the constituencies, in which the party is contesting,” she said.

Taking exception to black flag protests by MDMK leader Vaiko, the BJP leader asked, if Vaiko by protesting is opposing to good schemes coming to Tamil Nadu.  “Vaiko is losing his dignity among people of Tamil Nadu because of his black flag protest against the Prime Minister,” she added.

Meanwhile another Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad meeting booth level workers in Vellore stated that talks were on with the AIADMK for an “inclusive alliance.” “Wait for the good news,” he said. The NDA alliance would be a non-Congress, non-DMK alliance as the UPA alliance was a “coalition of the corrupt.”

When it was pointed out that corruption also tinged the AIADMK, he said talk of corruption was there, but in the UPA, both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were on bail in the National Herald case, while Wes Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was facing issues in her state while the 2G scam case relating to the DMK was on appeal.

In an all-out attack against the Congress-DMK combine ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP national president Amit Shah in Erode on Thursday termed the opposition alliance as not for the benefit of the state, but only to indulge in ‘scam and corruption.’

“It is an alliance for scam and corruption. Both the parties follow dynastic politics and have come together only to accumulate wealth for their families,” he said while addressing members of handloom and powerloom associations in Erode district.

Lashing out at the opposition combine to be void of leaders, policies and philosophy, the BJP leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA is ready for a successive term.

Pointing out that there are two groupings, Shah said that one under Rahul Gandhi and another ‘gathbandhan’ (alliance), which has no leader. 

Stating that under corporate social responsibility (CSR), the NDA government received thousands of crore to improve facilities for people, but for Congress-DMK combine, the CSR stands for corruption-scam raj. They looted the country through 2G scam, he said.

“But the strong alliance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ready to lead the nation for a second term after Lok Sabha polls,” he said.

Taking a further dig at DMK president MK Stalin, Shah said he sometimes accepts Rahul Gandhi as a leader and sometimes not.

Responding to Stalin’s criticism that the centre has done nothing for the state, the BJP chief shot back, “The UPA government, in which DMK was an ally, allotted only 94,000 crores during the 13th Finance Commission to Tamil Nadu. But the incumbent NDA government allocated Rs 5.42 lakh crore, which is 5.2 time more than what was allocated by UPA,” he said.