Tamil Nadu Political Scene Heats Up Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls: PM Modi's Roadshow, PMK Joins NDA, Tamilisai Soundararajan Resigns

With Tamil Nadu set to go to the Lok Sabha polls in the first phase on April 19, the political scene heated up with multiple significant developments on Monday. 

BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tamil Nadu on a two day visit and undertook a nearly 2.8 km roadshow travelling in an open top vehicle in Coimbatore on Monday evening. While he did not address the gathering, he paid homage to portraits of victims of the 1998 serial blasts in the textile city. After an overnight stay in Coimbatore, Modi will move to Salem on Tuesday where he is slated to address a NDA public meeting. 

Incidentally, the BJP got a shot in the arm on Tuesday evening when the PMK decided to join the NDA. The party, which has a notable base among the Vanniyar community in north and western Tamil Nadu, had held protracted negotiations with the AIADMK and BJP, before deciding to dump the former. 

Meanwhile, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajaran, who is also the Lt Governor of Puducherry, resigned from her posts on Monday. She confirmed that she will take up “people’s service” and well placed sources in the BJP said Tamilisai will be fielded from South Chennai seat. 

In another development, the DMK completed constituency allocation exercise with the Congress and MDMK. Thus the INDIA bloc has been the first to finalise its alliance in all aspects. The MDMK has decided to field party founder Vaiko’s son Durai Vaiko in Tiruchi, currently held by the Congress.