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The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced it would contest on its own the urban civic polls slated to be held on February 19 and asserted that its alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam remained intact. The saffron party was prompted to take the decision after the Dravidian ally did not come forward to meet its aspirations.
State BJP president K Annamalai said the AIADMK leadership came forward to allot 10 per cent of seats for the urban civic polls, and naturally his party had wanted more and a list of seats desired was also given to them.
The AIADMK, given its compulsions, could not accommodate the BJP as regards the number of seats it desired to contest and this scenario and the aspirations of cadres to contest in more segments was conveyed to the national leadership and a decision was taken to face urban civic polls alone, he said.
Addressing a press conference at party headquarters, Kamalalayam in Chennai, Annamalai said in order to strengthen the party at grassroots level and to reach out to the people on a slew of Centre's welfare schemes including the Smart Cities Mission, local polls are an opportunity.
Also, the party wanted to fulfill the aspirations of its cadres by giving them tickets to contest local polls, he said.
"We have, hence, decided to contest the 2022 urban civic polls on our own. We are going to field candidates everywhere across Tamil Nadu," Annamalai said amid applause from party office-bearers.
It is the decision of the party leadership to listen to the voice of the grassroots level worker and hence the decision, he said, adding the move to contest alone would help party's growth.
Firming up seat-sharing with the AIADMK for local body polls is a difficult task considering several practical difficulties at the local level, he said.
Expressing confidence that the BJP would emerge victorious in a large number of seats, Annamalai said that his party's alliance with the AIADMK, the principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu, continued to be intact. The alliance with AIADMK would continue for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as well, he said.
Asked if the BJP legislator Nainar Nagendran's recent 'AIADMK does not have spine' jibe had a bearing on the Dravidian party's stand on seats, Annamalai apologetically said that sometimes the remarks of leaders turn out to be 'contradictory.'
However, regret for Nagendran's remark was immediately conveyed by the MLA and others to the AIADMK leadership and both the parties did not magnify the issue, he said. "Everyone has forgotten that."
Nagendran had days ago said that he could not see a 'courageous AIADMK' in the assembly that could speak with spine and manliness. Whether or not the AIADMK is part of the alliance is immaterial, he had said.
Annamalai said the question before the BJP is only about moving on to the next level for party's growth by contesting in more number of seats, beyond the 10 per cent threshold offered by the AIADMK.
"We have no regrets as regards the AIADMK leadership," he said and praised AIADMK top leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami for leading their party through their excellent leadership qualities despite challenges.
The BJP leader said: "The cadres of both the parties work together. We are duty bound to convey our thankfulness to them (AIADMK leadership and workers)".
"Our common enemy is the DMK and particularly the DMK regime," he said when asked if the AIADMK had deliberately taken a tough stand on seat allocation to ease the BJP out of the alliance it lead. The BJP would bat for good governance in local bodies and seek a chance to serve the people through its nominees with a clean track record.
The BJP's primary task is to go door to door and explain to the people the 'false' assurances made by the DMK ahead of the assembly election last year.
Targeting DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin for accusing his party of communal politics, Annamalai asked the CM to pose a question to himself on his allegation.
The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has now ordered a CBI probe into the death of 17-year old girl. Whether this move of the court, after considering arguments of all sides, is to secure justice or not is something Stalin has to answer, the BJP leader said. Allegedly, the student of a school in Thanjavur district and a hostel inmate was coerced by some to convert to Christianity. She died by suicide days ago. However, the school management had rejected the allegation.
The TN BJP chief said the DMK decides the 'kind of politics', it should take forward and his party is geared up to take on the ruling party and give it back.
The BJP, as part of the AIADMK alliance, had contested 9.1 per cent seats in rural civic polls held last year. Out of the 9 districts that went for polls, an agreement could be reached for eight districts and the BJP contested polls alone in Kallakurichi district.
Hours after holding talks with the BJP, the AIADMK released its first list of candidates on January 30, which was an indication of the deadlock in seat-sharing arrangement between the two allies.
On Monday, a second list for candidates was released by the AIADMK and the BJP's first list is expected to be released soon.
Polls to over 12,000 seats in urban local bodies are scheduled to be held on February 19 in a single phase. Counting of votes would begin on February 22.