BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu addresses journalists at the State party Headquarters in Chennai on Sunday. Photo: V. Ganesan

B. Kolappan,

“It is not an Amma election or Ayya election. There is a wave in favour of Mr. Modi in Tamil Nadu and we will get a maximum number of seats in the State”, the BJP leader said

Bharatiya Janata Party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed optimism on Sunday that there would be no need for the BJP to get the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) support post-poll, as the National Democratic Alliance, riding on a ‘Modi wave’ “’will secure a majority on its own.”

Responding to a question whether the BJP would seek the support of the AIADMK led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa after the polls, Mr. Naidu said, an alternative had been given to the people of Tamil Nadu at the initiative of his party after a gap of 45 years.

“People are disgusted with the Dravidian parties. It is not an Amma election or Ayya election. There is a wave in favour of Mr. Modi in Tamil Nadu and we will get a maximum number of seats in the State,” he told reporters here. He, however, said any party was welcome to support the BJP government.

Asked about the stand of the MDMK, an ally of the BJP, that Tamil Eelam alone could provide a solution to the problems of the Sri Lankan Tamils, Mr. Naidu said every party had a right to have a view on a issue.

“As far as the BJP is concerned we are maintaining the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka and for a solution within the Constitutional frame work of that country. If you support the demand for a separate nation, it will have its repercussion in your own country,” he said.

Mr. Naidu said political parties had formed alliances not out of love and affection for one another, but to gain mutual political benefit for themselves and the country. “If there is no difference, all of us can be a single political party,” he said, adding, the NDA’s agenda would be formulated after the election as it was done in the past.

Seeking to play down differences in the party over allocation of seats to senior leaders including L.K. Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi, he said there was no question of sidelining Mr. Advani, who he said was the towering personality of the BJP.

Mr. Narendra Modi decided to contest from Varanasi because Uttar Pradesh was a biggest State and his presence in the State would have a positive bearing in neighbouring States like Bihar.

Mr. Naidu said that South India should be well represented in the BJP to ensure development for the South Indian States. “There is a surge of support for the BJP in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the party is likely to open an account in Kerala,” he said even as he admitted that the party faced a setback in Karnataka because of infighting.

Courtesy: The Hindu