The Congress has lost the confidence of the people in the State and therefore it is not the main rival to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress is even reluctant to name its vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate because of the way he makes baseless remarks, BJP national executive member L. Ganesan said here on Tuesday.
Mr. Ganesan termed baseless Mr. Gandhi’s reported remarks that the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi abetted the riots in his State. “Whether he says such things knowingly or not is the question. Maybe it is because of this that the Congress is hesitant in declaring him the Prime Ministerial candidate,” Mr. Ganesan told presspersons.
A BJP-led alliance would contest all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Mr. Ganesan also said that during the election the party would seek the support of actor Rajnikanth.
Leaders and cadre of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, India Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) and a few other parties would participate in a public meeting that would be addressed by Mr. Modi on February 8 at Vandalur near Chennai.
