Ahead of TN polls, suspended Congress leader Karate Thiagarajan joins BJP in Chennai

On Thursday, Suspended Congress leader and former Deputy Mayor of Chennai Corporation Karate Thiagarajan joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the state assembly elections. Thiagarajan joined BJP in the presence of the party's state in-charge CT Ravi and state party president L Murugan during a public rally at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai.

CT Ravi appealed to people to vote for the 'Lotus' (BJP's symbol) and 'two leaves' ( AIADMK's) symbol.

"When Congress-DMK were ruling they were showcasing Mughal tombs but our Modiji showcases Mahabalipuram. You have not given MLAs or MPs to Modi Ji, is this acceptable? This time all of you should vote for 'Lotus' and 'two leaves'," he said, reported ANI.

In June 2019, Thiagarajan said that BJP is a strong party and the BJP-AIADMK alliance will win in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, after which he was suspended as Chennai south district president by the Congress for "anti-party activities". Earlier, BJP president JP Nadda had said that the party will fight the forthcoming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu in alliance with the ruling AIADMK and other like-minded parties.

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PM Modi To Visit Tamil Nadu on February 14

Ahead of Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the poll-bound state on February 14, 2021. PM will visit Tamil Nadu and participate in events including the inauguration of the Chennai Metro Rail service to Wimco Nagar. On February 7, PM had visited Bengal and Assam.

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Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are due in April-May 2021 and the political parties have started their campaigns. While DMK's MK Stalin is eyeing becoming Chief Minister for the first time, CM E Palaniswami (EPS) is fighting for his re-election. The BJP is allied with the AIADMK and is in said to be in talks with Stalin's estranged brother MK Alagiri. On the other side, AIADMK has said that they are the big-brother within the NDA alliance though the party faces its own split on account of the release of Sasikala from jail. Meanwhile, Kamal Hassan has put a halt to his campaign trail due to leg surgery. Superstar Rajinikanth who was about to launch his party this year has backed out due to health reasons. Puducherry will also go to polls at the same time and there is trouble in the Congress-DMK alliance as the Stalin-led party has announced its own CM face.

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(With ANI Inputs)