MK Alagiri, DMK chief Karunanidhi's estranged older son, warms up to BJP
In its drive to make more friends in Tamil Nadu for next month's national election, the BJP is reaching out to DMK leader M Karunanidhi's estranged older son MK Alagiri, who has come out in support of Narendra Modi.
Last night, Mr Alagiri reportedly said he would welcome Mr Modi as Prime Minister, and there is a "Modi wave" across the country.
Mr Karunanidhi, the 89-year-old head of the DMK, suspended his older son in January and has now banned party workers from associating with him.
Mr Alagiri later met both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP chief Rajnath Singh, fuelling speculation of a breakaway party.
Opinion polls predict that the BJP will win the election but will fall short of a clear majority, which means the party has to rely on allies in states like Tamil Nadu, which sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
A BJP leader in Tamil Nadu had yesterday described Mr Alagiri as an "important person" who would help the party in the polls. The 63-year-old claims a strong support base in southern Tamil Nadu, which became apparent when in the 2001 assembly polls, rebels fielded by him scuttled the victory of around 30 DMK candidates.
The DMK, which had fought the 2004 and 2009 general elections with the Congress, has not tied up with any of the mainstream parties this time. In December, Mr Karunanidhi also ruled out an alliance with the BJP as his younger son and political heir MK Stalin was reportedly against such a partnership.
A possible tie-up with Alagiri could boost the BJP at a time it is struggling to balance the seat demands of two allies, Vijayakanth's DMDK and the PMK.
BJP leader M Chakravarthy, however, said all disputes had been sorted out and Rajnath Singh would announce the party's grand alliance today in the presence of all allies, including the DMDK and PMK.