Modi to address 5 lakh people in Chennai today

This is the largest ever public meeting of BJP in the State

Chennai is all set to witness the largest ever public meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today evening. During his third visit to Tamil Nadu's capital, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is set to address around five lakh people.

The 100-acre VGP ground, near Vandalur, on the outskirts of city has been modified to host the public rally, organised by the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit. The roads leading to the venue are decorated with flags of BJP and its alliance partners.

BJP's alliance partners - Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Tamil Nadu Makkal Katchi, Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi ( IJK ) - would share the stage with Modi, according to State BJP representatives. National leaders like R Venkaiah Naidu and P Muralidhar Rao along with a battery of state leaders would be joining Modi on the stage.

Vanathi Srinivasan, state secretary of BJP said, “We are expecting more parties from the State to join the alliance. Soon announcement will be made on this.”

Battalions of police have been deployed in and around Vandalur and even at the party's office in T Nagar, which clearly shows the state administration is not taking any chances.

Modi's previous public meeting in Tiruchi a few months back was attended by four lakh people.

Political observers feel that the frequent visits of Modi indicate that he is focusing on opening up more vote banks in the Southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, which has been traditionally aligned towards either of the local political parties.

Meanwhile, the deadlock continues in the BJP over finalising the composition of its alliance in Tamil Nadu for the Lok Sabha elections.

So far, the BJP has announced its tie up with the MDMK and the Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi. It has also been reported that there talks were ongoing between the BJP and Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which not only managed to split the votes in the 2011 Assembly election but also became the main opposition party in the State Assembly.

In the meantime, sources say MDMK general secretary Vaiko, who had originally agreed to participate in today's rally, would not attend the meeting as not much progress has been made with regard to a host of issues, including the number of constituencies to be allotted to his party and the names of such seats.

Political observers says Modi's first public meeting in Chennai will be crucial as he would use the platform to reach out to potential partners for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Modi's rally comes a week after J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK announced its alliance with CPI(M) and CPI, paving way for the third alliance.

Observers are also looking at what would be the approach of Modi towards the ruling Tamil Nadu government.  

Modi will tomorrow attend the convocation ceremony at SRM university as the chief guest. SRM is owned by IJK's founder T R Pachamuthu.