BJP counting seats and losing allies

New Delhi: BJP seems to be in a tussle to select a fruitful ally in Tamil Nadu. While the party is busy calculating the favourable number with the newly formed alliances, old allies are constantly being cold-shouldered. The BJP alliance is facing a split in the state that sends 39 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

After working out a seat-sharing pact with Vijayakanth’s DMDK, BJP now confronts trouble from another key ally, PMK, which reportedly wanted to contest from some constituencies promised to DMDK.

BJP firmly refused to back down, knowing that Vijaykanth’s charisma will get more votes than the traditional ally PMK. BJP has assigned 14 parliamentary seats to Vijayakanth’s party which drew a blank in the 2009 general elections but won 29 of 234 seats in the 2011 state polls.
 

PMK founder S Ramadoss threatened to walk away, saying, “A lion will not bargain with foxes.” The party is reportedly planning to go ahead and contest from Salem and two other constituencies.