Dazed BJP struggles to come out with second list

Chennai: Despite being the first political party to release its first list of candidates (on March 25), the BJP is still struggling to come out with its second list or finalise seat-sharing with its few allies, apparently dazed by the flurry of activity in PWA which roped in DMDK and TMC.

The party played down its loss and said it had made earnest attempts to get parties keen on ensuring corrupt-free government to come together on a common platform. “Unlike other parties, our alliance talks with parties including Vijayakanth’s DMDK were transparent. Likewise our talks with G.K. Vasan’s TMC, as our president has said, have also been open. We made an effort to forge an alliance,” BJP state secretary K.T. Raghavan, said.

The party is engaged in parleys with smaller parties like New Justice Party and Yadava organisation. The NJP has demanded 41 seats and the party has already announced its constituencies.

Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) has been allotted 45 seats, say sources in the party. On its own the BJP is likely to contest from about 134 seats, which is 44 seats more than what it contested during the 2011 Assembly election. The party had announced the names of 54 candidates on March 25. “It may take one or two more days to release the second list. There will also be a final list,” a senior leader said.