With 39 Lok Sabha constituencies, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a strategically important State for the national parties vying to form the next government at the Centre after the upcoming general election.
The Congress is bending over backwards to put its dismal performance in the last election behind it. While it has encountered unfavourable conditions in a few States, it has cemented its ties with the DMK, though the number of seats it would get to contest remains undecided. The BJP, currently isolated, is seeking to make up for the losses it could suffer in a few States by preparing the ground for an alliance with the AIADMK.
The BJP’s desperation is explained by the speech made by Thuglak editor and RSS ideologue S. Gurumurthy at the 49th anniversary of the magazine in Coimbatore this month. He had made it clear that the re-election of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister would be difficult if the Opposition camp, led by the DMK-Congress combine, won more seats from T.N.