Chennai: The BJP appears to be no longer an outcaste in Tamil Nadu politics and with the increase in its stock, the saffron party need not have the sinking feeling of going solo in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Despite lacking the traditional vote bank, compared to the major Dravidian parties that have created these over the years, the BJP here hopes to ride on the Modi wave to Parliament from here.
As the party steps into 2014, it cannot forget the shock over the killing of two of its leaders within a year, including state general secretary V. Ramesh.
It hopes to make it to the national capital thanks to its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who set the ball rolling by addressing a massive conference at Tiruchy.
The party is confident of winning a good number of seats on its own, and also with the help of the PMK, which could help in garnering Vanniyar votes, and the MDMK, too, by whipping up Tamil sentiments.
Another significant player, actor-politician Vijayakanth, is likely to join the BJP camp soon, says a senior leader in the party.
The southern states could help the party reach the magic number of 272+ seats that it requires on its own, and the alliance that it cobbles together would ensure the formation of the government after the general elections in 2014, feels the think-tank in the party.
The BJP believes that it can reclaim its footprints in the region and even expand through its allies.
It hopes to win more numbers in addition to Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Tirupur and the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituencies that the BJP had won in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls.
Presently, the rank and file of the party is going from village to village, highlighting Modi’s achievements, Congress misrule, need for a regime change at the Centre, besides popularising the lotus symbol, through its novel campaign: Veeduthorum Modi, Ullamthorum Thamarai (Modi in every household and lotus in every heart).
Through this padayatra, targeting to cover about 12,618 village panchayats, the party hopes to get closer to people, especially the rural voters, in the state with the hope of a breakthrough in the state. Saffron party, once an also-ran in the state, is no more a political outcaste.
Next: ‘Modi in every household, Lotus in every heart’ claims saffron brigade
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