BJP seeks 1 berth for state in Modi’s team

BJP sources in the state said that it has been conveyed to the party’s top brass that cadres wished to see at least “one BJP leader from Tamil Nadu,” in the Union Cabinet.

“Nothing is in our hands. It is the Prime Minister who decides on who will be in the Cabinet,” a senior state BJP leader said.

Notwithstanding the number of seats, the party won in the Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK will work to secure the rights of Tamil Nadu people through the Central government, state Information and Publicity Minister Kadambur C Raju said here on Wednesday.

“The BJP today does not need any numbers. They have an absolute majority. We are, however, part of the (NDA) alliance and on that basis we will work to secure the rights of the people through the Centre,” he added.

Though there are no pointers on the contours of the NDA-II Cabinet, there is a chance of the AIADMK getting a berth in the council of ministers. BJP sources here meanwhile, said the names of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam’s son P Raveendranath Kumar and Rajya Sabha member R Vaithilingam find place in the “probable list.”

Raju said, “There is a chance for it (AIADMK getting a berth in the Cabinet) since they (BJP) had said coalition partners will be accommodated (in the Council of Ministers).”

In the event of AIADMK getting a berth, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Panneerselvam will take a decision on its representative after talking with BJP leaders when they go to Delhi, the Minister added.

He said there were, however, no indications on the broad contours of the NDA-II Cabinet. While Kumar was the lone AIADMK-NDA victor from the state winning from Theni in the Lok Sabha elections, Vaithilingam was the Housing Minister during the late J Jayalalithaa’s tenure of 2011-16 and a party strongman from Thanjavur district.

The AIADMK has 13 members, including Vaithilingam, in the Rajya Sabha.

Mocking the DMK, Raju said the MK Stalin-led party which “stages walkouts in the state Assembly may reprise it in the Parliament as well and they cannot go beyond that.”

It is the AIADMK which will work for Tamil Nadu people and secure the people’s rights, the Minister said.

On May 22, Panneerselvam had said AIADMK will take a decision on joining the government at the Centre after declaration ofresults.