BJP Poised For Big Win In Tamil Nadu

Point One

AIADMK and DMK which faced corruption charges. AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa was convicted by a court in a disproportionate asset case and leaders from DMK, including party chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi have been charged in the 2G spectrum case.


Point Two

Congress party has almost disappeared from the Tamil Nadu scenario, it all began in 60s. 

Point Three


If BJP can go from 8 to 36 per cent in Haryana, why not go from 7 per cent in Lok Sabha elections to 36 per in Tamil Nadu

Point Four

This slogan could do wonders - "Kodi Urupinar Serpom, Tamilagathil Modi Aatchi Amaipom, (Let us enroll one crore members and usher in the rule of Modi in Tamil Nadu)




PTI Reports

Seeking to cash in on the "graft taint" on the two big parties of Tamil Nadu — ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK — the BJP on Wednesday set an ambitious target of winning 122 plus seats in the 2016 assembly elections and "capture power" in the state.

Although such a goal may seem unrealistic in the Tamil Nadu context where both the Dravidian parties, AIADMK and DMK, have been holding sway for decades, the BJP is apparently buoyed after its recent success in Haryana and Maharashtra.

BJP leaders at a party meet here asked "why it should not be possible" if it could happen in "Haryana and Maharashtra".

READ ALSO: Chautala's bail drama could hold message for Jayalalithaa 

Enrolling one crore members from the present 10 lakh, strengthening party units at the grassroots level like the booth unit were among the strategies deliberated as part of the "goal 2016". The meet fixed "122 plus" seats as its target out of the total 234 in the state Assembly.

The general council meeting of the Tamil Nadu BJP was held here on Wednesday in which senior leaders, including ministers of state Pon Radhakrishnan and Rajiv Pratap Rudy participated.

The leaders while addressing partymen lashed out at the ruling AIADMK and DMK which faced corruption charges.

AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa was convicted by a court in a disproportionate asset case and leaders from DMK, including party chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi have been charged in the 2G spectrum case.


Jayalalithaa sits in her vehicle as she leaves the Bangalore Central Jail after securing bail in Bangalore on October 18, 2014. (Getty Images)

Rudy, who was appointed in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu before his induction into the Union Cabinet, said BJP was poised for big wins in states, including Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi, where elections are due soon.

Citing the Haryana example, he asked, "Why it should not work for Tamil Nadu...people thought it was impossible in Maharashtra and Haryana too."

"If we can go from 8 to 36 per cent in Haryana, why cannot we go from 6-7 per cent (in Lok Sabha elections) to 36 per in Tamil Nadu...I think it is achievable," he said.

Building the party at the booth level and "motivating and connecting" with voters were important to achieve the goal, he stressed.

"We must capture power in Tamil Nadu," Pon Radhakrishnan said and urged cadres to work with that vision in mind.

Though the saffron party managed to sew up a grand alliance with local outfits like MDMK, DMDK and PMK in the Lok Sabha polls, it failed to carve out electoral space in the state and managed to win only the Kanyakumari constituency, represented by Radhakrishnan.

Senior leader L Ganesan exhorted partymen to strive towards strengthening the party at grassroots level.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan coined a slogan, "Kodi Urupinar Serpom, Tamilagathil Modi Aatchi Amaipom, (Let us enroll one crore members and usher in the rule of Modi in Tamil Nadu)."

She strongly criticized the ruling AIADMK and its chief Jayalalithaa on the assets case, her conviction and jailing.

READ ALSO: Jayalalithaa, three others sentenced to four years imprisonment, sent to jail

Both AIADMK and DMK were "graft-tainted" and only BJP stood a chance to bring in the "rule of Kamaraj", she said.

By seeking to appropriate iconic Congress leader and freedom fighter Kamaraj, she hit out at Congress as well, saying, "Whatever little support it has about 4 per cent (vote share)..it would be shared by (Tamil Nadu Congress chief) Elangovan and (former Union minister) Vasan."

Senior leader P Muralidhar Rao said Tamil Nadu politics was going through a transitional phase.

While AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa was convicted and jailed in an assets case, DMK is beset with "family politics" and facing "existential challenge".

Congress party has almost disappeared from the Tamil Nadu scenario. "A great vacuum is building up and there is a void," he said and added that the space would filled by the saffron party.

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Woman techie killed, 14 injured

PTI Chennai Bureau
   
Chennai, May 1 (PTI) A 24-year old woman techie was killed
and 14 others injured when a twin bomb blast rocked the
Bangalore-Guwhati Express at the busy Central Railway station
in the city today.
   The two low-intensity bombs that went off in quick
succession in S4 and S5 coaches about ten minutes after the
train chugged into the platform in the morning, triggered of
chaotic scenes with panic stricken passengers running for
safety.
   The woman killed in the mishap has been identified as
Swathi, employed with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in
Bangalore, and was travelling to her home town Guntur in
Andhra Pradesh along with a friend, police said.
   Fourteen injured persons, including two critically wounded,
were undergoing treatment at the state-run Rajiv Gandhi
General Hospital where doctors described their condition as
"out of danger".
   Police cordoned off the platform where the explosion
occurred, rushed forensic experts, bomb disposal squads and
sniffer dogs to look for clues and the Tamil Nadu Government
transferred the investigation to its specialised wing CB-CID.
   The ill-fated train continued its onward journey after
railway authorities replaced three damaged coaches while other
trains were being operated as scheduled after a brief
disruption, railway officials said.
   The police are probing all angles including whether the
bomb was planted after the train entered the city railway
station or elsewhere, a police official refusing to be
identified said.
   The CB-CID sleuths who have already plunged into the
probe have detained three coaches of the train, collected
pellets found on the scene and other materials, sources said.
   The Tamil Nadu police have alerted railway authorities at
various stations from Bangalore to Chennai to look for CCTV
footages for suspects and also the point at which the
explosive material gained entry into the train, sources said.
    Two persons who were travelling by the train have been
detained for questioning, police said but refused to reveal
further details.
    State DGP K Ramanujam who visited the mishap site said,"
It is a minor blast. It is suspected that Chennai could not
have been target of those who were behind the blast because
the train was running late. Some other location could have
been the target".
   "It is premature to say what kind of device was used in the
blast. Damage to the train is not heavy," he added.
   DGP (Elections) Anoop Jaiswal said, "We are picking up
clues and any speculation on this is too premature. Nobody has
been arrested so far", he said.
   A source in CB-CID said the materials collected from the
explosion site has been sent to forensic laboratory for
analysis and declined to share details of the probe involving
multiple agencies including the Railway police.
   No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts,
which occurred two days after the arrest of a terror suspect
hailing from Sri Lanka and believed to have links with Indian
terror modules.
   The floor surface of the two coaches was ripped apart under
the impact of the explosion, but the side walls and the
ceiling did not suffer any damage.
   Police ruled out the use of gelatin sticks, which were
involved in some blasts in the past in the state, and suspect
"the triggering device could have been anything including a
mobile phone".
   The Union Home Ministry was preparing to send teams of the
National Investigation Agency, National Security Guard and
forensic experts to Chennai, but put on hold the plan after
Tamil Nadu Government refused to take any help, saying its
police was well equipped to handle the blast probe.
   The authorities have enlarged security cover and beefed up
vigil at airports, railway and bus terminus across the state,
besides at key installations following the blasts.
   The explosions evoked strong condemnation from various
leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief
Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK chief M Karunanidhi
among others.
   Singh condemned the blasts, saying such "barbaric acts"
highlight the "desperation and cowardice" of those responsible
and asserted that no efforts would be spared in bringing the
perpetrators to justice.
    Jayalalithaa, in a quick response, ordered CB-CID probe
into the blasts and announced Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the
family of the deceased, besides Rs 50,000 each to the
grievously wounded and Rs 25,000 to those with minor injuries.
   Railway Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge expressed shock
over the blasts and declared Rs one lakh ex-gratia to the
family of the woman, who had joined the TCS only four months
and was to have got married in two months.
   He also announced Rs 25,000 immediate relief to seriously
injured and Rs 5,000 to those with minor injuries.
   Commissioner Railway Safety (southern circle) S K Mittal
will also conduct an inquiry into the incident, Railway
Spokesperson Anil Saxena said.
   Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, currently campaigning in
Himachal Pradesh  said, "I have directed my officials to
provide all assistance to the state government".

Jaya case: court continues recording prosecution witness

B D Narayankar reports

Bangalore, April 30 (PTI) A special court here today continued to record the statements of prosecution witnesses in the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others.

The statements were recorded before Special Court Judge John Michael Cunha.

The court has recorded statements of 224 witnesses out of the total of 259 presented by Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh, who had begun the final arguments in the last week of March.

The court on February 28 had asked him to resume the final arguments in the case in which Jayalalithaa has been charged with accumulating Rs 66 crore wealth disproportionate to known sources of income in 1991-95 when she was chief minister.

Cunha had imposed a cost amounting to Rs 60,000 to Rs 65,000 twice on Singh after he pleaded for adjournment on the grounds of ill health.

The Judge today posted the matter for May 5.

Jaya case: Lex's plea seeking stay on case dismissed by HC

B D Narayankar reports

Bangalore, Apr 29 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court today
dismissed the petition filed by Lex Property Developers,
seeking stay on the disproportionate assets case against Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others.
        Justice Satyanarayan dismissed Lex's plea, observing that
it was an attempt by the company to delay the main case, in
which Jayalalithaa has been charged with accumulating Rs 66
crore wealth disproportionate to known sources of income from
1991 to 1995 when she was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
        The judge also imposed Rs one lakh penalty on the company.
     The Lex Property, of which Jayalalithaa and other accused
were directors, approached the High Court after the special
court here on March 14 dismissed its plea with Rs 10,000 as
cost. Aggrieved, the company came back to the Madras High
Court seeking certain clarifications to its order.
     However, the Madras court made it clear to Lex that it
must work out its remedy before the Karnataka High Court if it
was aggrieved.
    The disproportionate wealth case against Jayalalithaa was
being heard at a special court in Chennai after it was
registered in 1996.
     However, the case was transferred to special court here
by a Supreme Court order on November 18, 2011, on a petition
filed by DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan.
     Among the assets attached/seized by the prosecution were
the properties of Lex. When Lex moved the Madras High Court
for appropriate orders, the court in 2011 directed it to
approach the special court in Bangalore.
        Meanwhile, in the special court Special Public Prosecutor
Bhavani Singh resumed the final arguments in Jayalalithaa
case. The court posted the matter for hearing for tomorrow.