Puducherry: The Opposition DMK, which has not been in power for the past 25 years in the Union Territory of Puducherry, is elated over the decision of the BJP to contest the ensuing civic body polls alone. The BJP is in a political alliance with the All India NR Congress and the AIADMK and the party meeting held recently decided to go it alone in the civic body polls.
The BJP leader in charge of Puducherry, Nirmal Kumar Surana on Monday told IANS that local leaders want the party to improve its footprint across the state.
Sources in the BJP however told IANS that the saffron party is miffed with the attitude of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy over non-appointment in the state public sector undertakings.
A senior BJP leader in Puducherry on condition of anonymity told IANS, “The Chief Minister does not want the BJP to increase its presence across the state. Getting plum posts on boards and corporations is a method to improve the party standing across the state and the Chief Minister always wants the BJP to play second fiddle which we are not willing to do. The BJP is a political party that is ruling the country and we will contest the elections on our own and communicate to the people directly. This will help the party in the long run as we will have proper grassroots connectivity.”
However, the AINRC camp said that the BJP has always tried to upstage the Chief Minister and cited the example of the central leadership nominating three-party MLAs without consultation with the Chief Minister.
The AINRC camp also feels that Chief Minister N. Rangasamy is the most popular politician in Puducherry and that the BJP has been piggy-riding his popularity. The party leaders also said that it would be a waterloo for the BJP to contest the polls alone as it won’t have the necessary connectivity in all regions of the territory.
Meanwhile, R. Siva, DMK leader and member of the legislative assembly, said that his party will do extremely well in the ensuing civic body polls. The DMK leader told IANS, “The DMK is a political party which has the grassroots support across all the four regions of the territory. The excellent administration of the DMK government under M.K. Stalin in Tamil Nadu has given the DMK much-needed support among the people of Puducherry and this will help us in good stead in the days to come. The BJP has no presence in Puducherry and is capitalizing on the support base of its allies. The election results will clearly prove that BJP is a non-entity in the Union Territory.”
The BJP camp is buoyed up by the fact that it has six elected MLAs, three nominated MLAs, and the support of three independent MLAs and that this support base is enough for the party to win several seats in the civic body polls.
