The BJP, hoping to open its account in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in the May 16 election, intensified its onslaught on the ruling AIADMK and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday. P Muraleedhar Rao, the national secretary in- charge of Tamil Nadu BJP challenged Jayalalithaa to a debate on her claims that the State turned power surplus during her regime.
Addressing the media after a sumptuous lunch in a hotel in the city, Rao challenged Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to come out with figures, like the number of power connections given by her Government and the number of power connections surrendered by the people during the last three years.
Rao was upset that the AIADMK supremo has been ignoring all criticism levelled against her by the BJP leadership. “Madam Jayalalithaa, you can ignore BJP but you cannot ignore the people of Tamil Nadu. The BJP has taken this election campaign seriously and we have big ambitions for Tamil Nadu,” thundered Rao.
He said a big vacuum was emerging in Tamil Nadu politics because of the failure of both the Dravidian majors. “The only political party in the country which can fill this vacuum in Tamil Nadu is the BJP. We are building upon the political and leadership infrastructure established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level. Modi has created a mobilisation capacity for the BJP and this would be proved in the ensuing elections,” said Rao.
The BJP leader said the rallies to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi in Chennai, Hosur, Kanyakumari in the next two days would be a game changer in Tamil Nadu politics. “All national leaders of the BJP are going to
criss-cross the State of Tamil Nadu in the coming week and this will ensure a big majority for the party in the State,” said Rao.