Alagiri met Rajnath with support offer

The move comes at a time when the former Union Minister is believed to be unhappy over his suspension and the rise of M K Stalin

In a significant development, disgruntled son of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi M K Alagiri has reached out to BJP with an offer of support in upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Alagiri, who was suspended from his party recently, met BJP president Rajnath Singh for about 45 minutes during his visit to Delhi, sources said.

The former Union Minister and Singh discussed the current political situation, they said.

Alagiri offered his support for the BJP alliance which also includes DMDK, PMK and MDMK in Tamil Nadu, the sources said. However, there was no commitment from Singh.

The Madurai strongman has considerable influence in about seven Lok Sabha constituencies in south Tamil Nadu.

He had fielded some rebel candidates against DMK in the 2001 Assembly elections, which caused a lot of damage to the party in about 12 constituencies.

The meeting was fixed through a senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu.

The move comes at a time when the former Union Minister is believed to be unhappy over his suspension and the rise of his younger brother M K Stalin in the party affairs.

Moreover, Alagiri is said to be furious over denial of tickets for his supporters, which is an indication that he being sidelined from DMK.

Denied a ticket and embarrassing the party by meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Alagiri yesterday said he would decide his future course of action after consulting his supporters amidst reports that may float his own outfit.

"I would surely play a role. But, I cannot indicate the kind of role," the sulking leader had stated.