Chennai: When Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa meets him in his office in New Delhi on Tuesday, the only thing that could weigh heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mind is how to get the AIADMK, whose combined strength in Parliament is 50, into the fold of the National Democratic Alliance.
The top brass of BJP, especially Mr Modi and his second-in-command Amit Shah, have been quite vocal in enlisting the support of the AIADMK and want the party to be just part of the NDA, if not in the government itself. BJP sources told Deccan Chronicle that the PM is likely to extend an invitation to Ms Jayalalithaa to join the NDA, thus formalising the relationship between her party and the BJP.
Ms Jayalalithaa will hold a one-on-one meeting with Mr Modi on Tuesday and politics is likely to top the agenda. AIADMK sources said the Chief Minister is primarily undertaking the visit to get an assurance for generous financial assistance to Tamil Nadu from the Centre. She will also discuss crucial issues relating to the state and seek the PM’s support for resolution of water issues with neighbouring states.
The NDA wants Jayalalithaa into its fold given its minority status in Rajya Sabha, where Congress was the single largest party till the poll for 27 of 57 seats on Saturday. After the poll, in the House of 245, the NDA has raised its tally by 5 and now has 74 members. The UPA, on the other hand has 71 members, with its tally down by three.
This will only be the second formal meeting between Ms Jayalalithaa and Mr Modi after he assumed office in May 2014. The talk within the BJP is that though Ms Jayalalithaa is not part of the NDA, she is a trusted friend and ally and her party has been supporting the Union government on almost all issues both inside and outside the Parliament.
The AIADMK has bailed out the BJP government on several occasions, especially in Rajya Sabha and had always sided with the government except on the GST Bill, on which it has reservations. BJP insiders feel if
Ms Jayalalithaa’s party joins the NDA, its strength in the Upper House would go up and that will ensure passage of several crucial legislations pending due to “adamant” attitude of the Opposition Congress.
The BJP’s not-so-good relationship with its current allies – SAD, Shiv Sena and TDP – is also believed to have spurred the need to look for another trusted ally in Ms Jayalalithaa since she shares an excellent rapport with Mr Modi. It is a known fact that both have attended each other’s swearing-in as Chief Minister before Mr Modi assumed the office of Prime Minister.
Roping in Ms Jayalalithaa into the NDA will face no opposition from any of these parties since they all enjoy good equations with the AIADMK chief.
