BJP strives to strengthen party in western TN by roping in former AIADMK MLAs

Chennai, Feb 7 (PTI) The BJP, which has been focusing on western region of Tamil Nadu for years now, has apparently attempted to further boost its efforts ahead of the Lok Sabha polls by inducting a number of former MLAs of the AIADMK from the Kongu belt.

Former AIADMK legislators, including 'challenger' Duraisamy (Coimbatore), K Vadivel (Karur), P S Kandasamy (Aravakkurichi), M V Rathinam (Pollachi) and R Chinnasamy (Singanallur) who belong to the western region of the state were among those who joined the saffron party in Delhi.

BJP leaders are hopeful that the entry of these leaders would further strengthen the party's efforts to build a firm support base in the western parts of the state, where it already has pockets of influence.

Fifteen former MLAs and an ex-MP joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday in the presence of Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar and L Murugan besides the state BJP president Annamalai.

In 2021, Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of the BJP's Mahila Morcha was elected from Coimbatore-south and C Saraswathi won from Modakkurichi segment which also falls in the same western region. During the 2021 Assembly polls, the saffron party had an alliance with the AIADMK.

Also, S E Venkatachalam (Salem) another former legislator of the AIADMK, who joined the BJP recently is also from the western region.

The western region, known as the Kongu belt, is a traditional bastion of the AIADMK. When the saffron party made efforts to strengthen itself in such a region it apparently irked the AIADMK when the both the parties were in an alliance till the last year.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai's 'En Mann En Makkal' (My land, my people) yatra is also likely to culminate in Tirupur district in western Tamil Nadu this month. Annamalai's home turf also happens to be the same western region. In addition to the 15 MLAs and one former MP, the recent entry of Venkatachalam and another former AIADMK MLA Muthukrishanan from Kanyakumari, a district where the BJP has good following in a number of areas, takes the number of former elected representatives who has joined the party to 18.

In the social media, the AIADMK supporters, however, dismissed the former party MLAs as 'spent force.' PTI VGN ROH