BJP move to strengthen NDA ahead of TN polls

Ahead of assembly polls next year in Tamil Nadu, BJP on Friday gave ample indications of softening and ready to run the extra mile to bring more parties into NDA fold at a time when DMDK chief Vijayakanth is being wooed by opposition parties, including DMK.

While PMK has declared that its leader Anbumani Ramadoss would be its chief ministerial candidate, BJP national general secretary P Muralidhar Rao on Friday indicated that his party may not be averse to accepting such a position of a would-be ally. “BJP has not decided that as a leader of NDA we should indispensably have the Chief Ministerial (aspirant) position with us,” he told reporters here. PMK has a position of “where they are flexible and not flexible,” he added. The BJP stance assumes significance as DMDK too is keen on insisting that its chief Vijayakanth should be chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that he agrees to be part of. On DMDK being wooed by all parties, Rao said “we are also calling them.”

Asked why that party should be invited if it was still part of NDA as claimed by his party, he said “we are calling both NDA and non-NDA parties.” 

“You have to understand. They may have gone in for certain positioning for better negotiations. There is scope and my answer is there is flexibility (on BJP’s part).”