BJP national president Amit Shah will deliver his first-ever speech in Tamil Nadu on Saturday at a public meeting near Chennai, heightening expectations on whether he would politically take on the ruling AIADMK.
There is little clarity even within the BJP’s State unit on what line Mr. Shah would take, given that he had already, at party deliberations, called Tamil Nadu and Kerala the last frontier for the party to conquer.
Party sources here said that if his recent tour of West Bengal was any indication, Mr. Shah would be critical of all Opposition parties. “He ripped apart the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. But we are yet to be informed of what he is going to speak in Chennai,” a senior leader said.
Mr. Shah would touch upon issues of the fishermen and the corruption charges against both the DMK and the AIADMK. But he is likely to go harder on the DMK, which the BJP feels is weakening rapidly, providing a space for it to grow, sources said.
The BJP’s State unit has seen hectic activities over the week. All office-bearers have been asked to ensure a “huge turnout” at the Maraimalainagar grounds.
