Having stitched up an alliance in Tamil Nadu, the Bharatiya Janata Party is confident of a similar tie-up with regional parties in Seemandhra and Telangana.
In a statement on Friday, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had added significantly to the UPA numbers in 2004 and 2009, but this time “the biggest setback to the UPA will come from these two States.”
Referring to the party gaining friends in the two States, Mr. Jaitely said: “The BJP’s vote share across Tamil Nadu is predicted to be in double digits.” The combination of the BJP, the DMDK, the PMK, the MDMK and two smaller regional groups “is capable of transforming the bilateral fight into a three-cornered fight. Not only is the vote share of the NDA going to be very significant, the fact that it is a ‘Modi-led alliance’ is adding to its strength.”
