In a major shot in the arm for the saffron party, a three-time Congress MLA from Tamil Nadu, S Vijayadharani, joined the BJP on Saturday (February 24) and asserted that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very important for the country. She is the MLA from Vilavancode, which is part of the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, a constituency the BJP has won in the past. The development comes just ahead of the general elections in which the BJP is looking to win over 370 seats on its own and over 400 as NDA, as part of which it is looking to make significant inroads to the southern states where it has struggled to gain ground in the past.
Vijayadharani shared her letter of resignation from the Congress ahead of joining the saffron party.
She joined the BJP in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister L Murugan and the party's national secretary Arvind Menon, who is the poll in-charge for Tamil Nadu.
What did Vijayadharani say after joining the BJP?
The former Congress leader lauded the Modi government for its various schemes and said that some of these are not being implemented in Tamil Nadu, where DMK-Congress alliance is in power.
“A lot of great things are happening to the country,” she said while also hailing the party’s focus on women.
Murugan said people from different sections of society are coming forward to join the BJP to strengthen PM Modi's hand.
The BJP was unable to win any of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu in the 2019 general elections. However, eying 370 seats, the BJP is making strong efforts to make significant inroads into the South in the general elections due April-May.
(With PTI inputs)
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