Javadekar hits out at AIADMK, says alliance for TN polls soon

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday indicated that a picture on who will be fighting the coming Assembly polls alongside BJP would emerge in a week even as he took a swipe at ruling AIADMK vis-a-vis taking credit for flood assistance.

“We had very good discussion,” Javadekar, BJP’s Assembly election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, told reporters here after meeting DMDK chief Vijayakanth at his residence along with state party unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan.

He described the discussion as a “fruitful” one.

Asked if Vijayakanth had given any commitment on joining hands with BJP for the polls, he said, “we are already NDA (constituents), we will tell you everything next week.” 

On DMDK describing the meeting as a “courtesy call” he said, “let me tell you again, I am meeting all NDA colleagues and I am not meeting non-NDA parties and in that sequence I have met everybody.” 

Though Javadekar was at pains trying to stress that Vijayakanth-led party continued to be part of NDA, in a press release, DMDK said it was a “courtesy” call.

After the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Vaiko-led MDMK, PMK and later DMDK snapped ties with BJP one after the other, though the saffron party still maintains that the DMDK was with them.

He wrapped up his two-day meeting with parties that had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with BJP, including the DMDK, and IJK. He also met All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi chief Sarath Kumar, who was not part of the NDA in 2014.