Published On:Sunday, May 18, 2014
Posted by Unknown
Modi, Rajnath Ring Up Jaya
CHENNAI: After trading spiking barbs during the Lok Sabha polls, it is time for bonhomie for the ruling AIADMK and BJP now who exchanged pleasantries in a sign of warming up to each other.
Two days after the landslide win, top BJP leaders including its Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi today greeted Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for her emphatic victory, which the AIADMK supremo reciprocated congratulating the saffron party leaders.
"Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh spoke to Jayalalithaa over phone and the leaders greeted each others for the respective parties' victories," official statements said.
Modi spoke to Jayalalithaa over phone and thanked for her letter on Friday congratulating him for his party's 'magnificent win' in the elections and also assured his government's "absolute cooperation" to Tamil Nadu.
"Selvi (Ms) J Jayalalithaa, wished him a very successful tenure as Prime Minister of India. The Hon'ble Prime Minister–designate assured the Hon'ble Chief Minister that
there will be absolute cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu," a state government release here said.
Singh also called up Jayalalithaa and wished her for AIADMK's "grand win", a party release said.
"Thanking Mr Rajnath Singh, Amma (Jayalalithaa) extended her greetings to him for BJP's win," it added.
While BJP secured absolute majority to form a government at the Centre, ruling AIADMK swept the April 24 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, winning 37 of the 39 seats and in the process decimating arch-rival DMK, Congress and the six-party alliance sewn up by the BJP.
While there was no pre-poll alliance between the two parties for the elections, Jayalalithaa's sparing of BJP in her election campaign, based on a strong anti-Congress, anti-DMK theme, drew flak from her rivals with Congress leader P Chidambaram even describing her party as "BJP's B-Team."
Modi also did not make any mention of AIADMK in his earlier rallies in Tamil Nadu.
However, things changed soon as the two parties sparred in the last leg of the election campaigning, with Jayalalithaa doubting the Gujarat model of development, even calling it a 'myth' and insisted her state was well ahead in various human development indices than its western counterpart.
Jayalalithaa heightended her criticism on Gujarat Chief Minister when she declared it was the 'Lady' in Tamil Nadu who did better, seeking to debunk the 'Modi Wave'.
Later, Modi also took a dig at the AIADMK, saying the party besides DMK was locked in a fight with each other to settle personal scores, thus not focussing on people's welfare.
He had pitched BJP-led NDA as a 'viable alternative' to the two Dravidian parties.
