By Chennai / Vijay Grover


As the country gears up for the fifth and final phase of polling on May 13, the BJP is going all out to make its presence felt in Tamil Nadu.

This, after the party failed to win even a single seat in the last Lok Sabha elections, despite an alliance with the AIADMK.

The BJP made its electoral debut here as early as 1991 polling 1.76 percent of the total votes. But its fortunes in the state have been heavily dependent on its alliances.

Political analysts feel there is little space for national parties in the state unless they align with the local bigwigs.

Political analyst Cho Ramaswamy said, " Its like the congress pygmy being compared with jayalalithaa and karunanidhi , no body in the state even knows who is the state congress president while in case of ADMK and DMK everyone knows who the leader is . The BJP has no personality while the congress will put down any personality."

With the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils an emotive issue in these elections, the BJP is trying to piggy ride it for electoral gains much like the other regional players.

BJP state president L Ganesan said, "The people here are aware that the problem cant be solved by the ADMK and the DMK , how far they can impress the government , only parties at the centre can solve the problem . congress has failed , people are very much angry . even people in srilanka feel that only L K Advani can bring a solution."

But while the state unit of the party is going all out on the issue, the central leaders are cautious with their promises.

Venkaiah Naidu said, "We dont want to break that country , we want to be good neighbours."

Contesting in alliance with some smaller parties the BJP has fielded 13 candidates in the state and is sparing no efforts to ensure it gets back on the score board in Tamil Nadu.