The Bharatiya Janata Party is in talks with Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and other smaller players in Tamil Nadu for the Assembly elections due in mid-April this year.
“We are working to win the election in Tamil Nadu with a Third Front. We are talking to various smaller parties like the MDMK and PMK. The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) had fought the last election in Tamil Nadu very well and we hope to build on it this time as well,” said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, who is overseeing BJP’s preparation for the State polls.
“We believe that on our own, BJP needs to grow. In States like West Bengal, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, the BJP is growing very fast, and we want the party to stand on its feet and become a significant player in these States,” he added.
Goyal said: “All our leaders are going to all the districts to get feedback from the workers and understand where we are strong and where we need to focus. We are very confident that we will make a significant mark in Tamil Nadu.”
Meanwhile, Goyal said 5,026 villages have been electrified under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna. “As on April 1, 2015 there were 18,452 such villages. Our target was to electrify all these villages in 1,000 days from August 15. Already one-third of the work has been completed. By March 2016, we aim to take it up to 5,800 villages,” said Goyal.
The Minister said the maximum number of villages have been electrified in Bihar (1,591 villages) followed by Uttar Pradesh (1,039 villages).