BJP president Rajnath Singh announced the party's alliance with five regional parties at a press conference in Chennai today.
In Tamil Nadu, flanked by the leaders of five regional parties, the BJP president Rajnath Singh publicly announced the party's large alliance.
The BJP, which won none of the state's 39 parliamentary seats in the last national election, is carpooling this time with the DMDK, headed by actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, the MDMK headed by Vaiko, the PMK which is fronted by S Ramadoss, and two smaller parties.
"It's a historical moment for India,'' said BJP president Rajnath Singh while unveiling the alliance in Chennai this afternoon. "Unlike the UPA, the BJP is genuinely committed to retaining India's federal character,'' he added.
The partnerships promise to challenge the largely bipolar politics that Tamil Nadu has grappled with so far - the two main parties are Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's AIADMK and M Karunanidhi's DMK.
The BJP is only a marginal player in the state, but Vijayakanth, popularly known as Captain, brings it some juice. In the last national election, his DMDK did not win a single seat, but two years later, it landed 29 of the state's assembly seats, surging ahead of the DMK as the state's main opposition party.
The DMDK, in keeping with the seat-sharing pact worked out by the alliance partners, has been allocated 14 seats. The BJP and the PMK will be contesting 8 seats each, while the MDMK has been assigned 7 constituencies. The KMDK and the IJK have been left a seat apiece.