Alagiri meets Rajnath; offers support

Dumped by his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, lonely M K Alagiri went knocking the doors of BJP on Friday offering political support in Tamil Nadu in his bid to remain relevant in the Lok Sabha elections.

In his desperate effort to reach out to high profile leaders before launching his own political outfit, the Madurai MP called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil superstar Rajnikanth in the last 48 hours.

The former union minister is believed to have offered support for the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, leveraging his influence in some pockets of the southern Tamil Nadu. Though Rajnath listened to Alagiri’s proposal, he did not seek his support.

Close to finalising seat sharing agreements with the DMDK, the MDMK and the PMK in Tamil Nadu, as it attempts to lead the four-party coalition in Tamil Nadu against Jayalalitha’s AIADMK, the BJP cannot afford to associate itself with Alagiri or the remnants of the DMK.

Earlier, Singh turned down friendly overtures from Karunanidhi who had recently praised the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as hard working.
DH News Service