Environment particularly conducive in western parts: Vanathi

The BJP will face the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu as part of a strong alliance, and the State will play a key role in ensuring a BJP-led government at the Centre post-election, said the party’s state general secretary, Vanathi Srinivasan.

She told journalists in Coimbatore that the BJP had begun preparations for the general election and that party leaders were working on forging a “formidable alliance” in Tamil Nadu.

As part of election work, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ravi Shankar Prasad and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would visit the State.

Ms. Srinivasan said the party saw a favourable and conducive climate in Tamil Nadu, particularly in the western region, “because of the schemes that the Centre has implemented in the State and the number of people who have benefitted from it”.

According to her, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sanctioned many developmental projects for Tamil Nadu — where the BJP had only one MP — such as the AIIMS in Madurai, smart cities and Amrut cities. She listed various other schemes, for which money was sanctioned by the Centre.

In Coimbatore, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend a party meeting at Kinathukkadavu on February 3 and an event for the Defence Innovation Hub on February 6. BJP president Amit Shah will visit Erode and the Prime Minister will take part in a massive public meeting in Tirupur on February 10. The PM may make big-ticket announcements for the region, she added.

On Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s proposals for a minimum income guarantee, she said the Congress had failed to alleviate poverty when it was in power for 60 years.