MDMK leader says party could align with BJP

Tamil Nadu's Vaiko-led MDMK is not averse to aligning with an alternate front, including the one led by the BJP, to unseat the Congress-led United Progressive Front (UPA) at the centre, a party official said Friday.

"People are looking for a change, after being thoroughly frustrated with the last two terms of UPA. This is evident from the crowds that Modi (BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi) draws in all the places he addresses," an MDMK official told IANS, preferring anonymity.

To a question about whether the MDMK would be willing to align with the BJP, the leader said: "We have no hesitation. We have decided to stand in the 2014 parliamentary elections. We have to throw out the Congress government."

He said the timing of the election is not known and it is too early to say with which party MDMK would align, but he added the party has an open mind on joining the front comprising of BJP-DMDK-PMK, should such an alliance fructify.

Asked for his views on Modi's rally in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, the MDMK leader said: "The crowd gathered there was impressive, given the BJP's size in the state. It only shows that people want a change at the centre."

According to him, the UPA government is anti-Tamil as it has not done much for fishermen's safety from attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy.

"More than 600 Tamil Nadu fishermen have been killed till date, but the centre has not taken any action," he said.

A senior BJP leader told IANS that the party is exploring a possible three- or four-party alliance that includes actor-turned-politician A. Vijayakant-promoted DMDK to fight the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP may also rope in the MDMK and the PMK, he said.

Vaiko declared at Erode on Thursday that for the 2014 general elections, his party would not ally with either the AIADMK or the DMK.