Stalin in talks with us, says Tamil Nadu BJP chief; DMK refutes claims

Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan has said that DMK chief MK Stalin is in talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the result day for Lok Sabha elections near. The statement comes a day after Stalin met Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao which was termed a "courtesy visit" by the DMK.

"They are speaking via someone, they are establishing a connection," said Soundararajan, the chief of the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP. "It is true, on the one side it is Rahul Gandhi, on the other it is KCR and then Modi. Everyone knows that the DMK changes colours," she added.

This comment by Soundararajan gains significance as the DMK president Stalin was the first to endorse Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister and revive the UPA-era alliance between the parties. The DMK has also been campaigning vociferously against the Modi government, calling it "anti-people".

Ideologically too the Dravidian, rationalist, Tamil nationalist roots of the DMK do not match with the saffron party, and the two parties have been at loggerheads except for their alliance during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA years.

Speaking to WION on Soundararajan's comment, senior political analyst Dr Sumanth C Raman said, "The very fact that BJP is talking about parties like DMK shows that they are not very confident about getting a majority."

But Soundararajan dismissed the speculation and said she is confident that the BJP will emerge victorious in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "Everyone knows that BJP is winning. KCR is hungry and he is trying to bring some sort of a change on May 23, when the results of the Lok Sabha polls will be announced," said Soundararajan.

Quoting unspecified opinion polls, Soundararajan said that Narendra Modi is coming back to power as Prime Minister.

Speaking on Stalin's meeting with KCR, she said, "KCR met Stalin, but it won't make a difference. How many ever fronts emerge? It will only benefit the BJP." She also questioned Stalin abiut why he did not firmly say that Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister post his meeting with KCR.

Responding to Soundararajan's comments, DMK spokesperson Manuraj S said, "The comments of Dr Tamilisai don't warrant a response from a the DMK unless she acts in a manner that is responsible and worthy of the position that she holds in her party." Speaking to WION, he also added that the DMK would not comment until the BJP state president mentioned the specific details of who had contacted the BJP and called Soundararajan's comment a cooked-up story.

For this election, DMK is in an alliance with the Congress, Left parties, and the Congress is contesting in 10 seats across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The AIADMK is in an alliance with the BJP, PMK and DMDK, with the saffron party candidates contesting from five parliamentary constituencies.