BJP keen on making its presence in Tamil Nadu Assembly

Chennai: The state BJP, which has performed better compared to DMK and Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, has set its eyes on the 2016 assembly elections to make an entry into the state legislature “with modest numbers”.

In the wake of general secretaries meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 31, the state unit here feels that the Tamil Nadu unit should have more representation at  the national level so at to perk up the saffron party’s prospects at the hustings. “We will gear up for the 2016 assembly elections. The present alliance should be intact till then,” opines, BJP senior leader C.P. Radhakrishnan.

On the speculation that the BJP was warming up to the ruling AIADMK as it lacked the sufficient numbers in the Rajya Sabha, he exuded optimism that the opposition parties would play a “constructive role” as his party had done in the past, in the interest of the nation.

“I am optimistic. Everybody is welcome to support the BJP. Our main agenda is nation’s development. So, we expect everybody to cooperate and participate in the development activities and ensure safe passage of crucial bills,” he told this correspondent on Tuesday.

On the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections, he said the BJP had fared well. “It would have been a great victory for BJP had I and others had won. But victory or defeat in elections is part of democracy,”  said Mr Radhakrishnan who lost by a thin margin of 42,016 votes to the AIADMK’s P. Nagarajan in Coimbatore.
For one, he felt that the party had an urban presence and it has to fan out and reach the rural masses to consolidate its presence.