AIADMK snapped ties with BJP and quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Marking the culmination of the six-month long yatra undertaken by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally in Tiruppur district in the western region on February 25, effectively launching the party’s campaign for Lok Sabha elections in the state.
BJP, which is in the process of stitching a rainbow alliance under its leadership, wants to convert the rally in Palladam near Tiruppur as a show of strength by mobilising about 5 lakh people. The party is also working towards finalising alliance with like-minded parties before the public meeting so that the alliance partners can share the stage with Modi.
En Mann, En Makkal ((My Land, My People) yatra, which was flagged off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July 2023 in the holy town of Rameswaram, will conclude in Palladam after covering all 234 assembly constituencies in the state. BJP President J P Nadda will address a public meeting on February 10 in Chennai, marking the yatra reaching 200th assembly constituency.
“Prime Minister Modi will address the mega rally in Palladam on February 25. We have identified a huge land parcel for the public event which will have seating arrangements for 5 lakh people,” Annamalai said.
The choice of Palladam for the public meeting is significant as the BJP believes it could garner a significant percentage of votes in the western region, a known bastion of the AIADMK, from where Annamalai hails. It is also the western region where the BJP has a base of its own in pockets and the party is of the view that Modi visiting the region would help electorally.
“Western TN has been our focus for the past few years and Annamalai’s yatra received good response in this region. We want to convert at least some percentage of the response into votes this Lok Sabha elections. And that’s the reason we are focussing on the region along with south TN,” a senior BJP leader told DH.
The party, which is in talks with DMDK, PMK, and rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, also plans to complete the discussions in the next few days to enable launching the election work. While Nadda will be in Chennai for two days beginning February 10 to participate in party events, sources said his meeting with potential alliance partners cannot be ruled out.
BJP has been contesting elections alone in Tamil Nadu since 2006, except for 2014 Lok Sabha polls when it cobbled up a coalition with PMK and DMDK, 2019 and 2021 polls when it aligned with the AIADMK.
The AIADMK snapped ties with BJP and quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2023 blaming Annamalai’s consistent attack on Dravidian legends and AIADMK’s core ideology.