This is the time to defeat BJP: Alagiri
The DMK and the Congress on Sunday clinched the seat sharing deal for the April 6 Assembly election, with DMK allotting 25 Assembly seats and the bypoll bound Kanniyakumari seat to the Congress. DMK president M K Stalin signed the agreement with Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president KS Alagiri at his party headquarters Anna Arivalayam in the presence of AICC in charge of TNCC, Dinesh Gundu Rao and DMK women’s wing secretary K Kanimozhi. Hours earlier, around midnight, Alagiri and Rao had visited Stalin’s residence and finalised the numbers. Alagiri told the media after signing the pact that, “BJP is spreading like a pandemic, worse than corona, throughout the country. BJP destabilises govts and weakens parties to gain foothold. To prevent them and eliminate anti-social justice parties, and to keep an ideology (secularism) alive, TN Congress would fight the election with DMK led secular alliance.” Quoting his party leader Rahul Gandhi who said this (TN Assembly) election was a battle between two ideologies and they should win it, the TNCC chief added that if rivals win, it would meant defeat of one ideology and rise of another ideology. Asked about his party being restricted to 25 seats, Alagiri said, “Ups and down are common in politics. Great leaders have suffered defeat and bounced back. Seats contested by a party are determined by the prevailing political situation. Tomorrow we might be in a position to contest in 200 seats. This is the time to defeat BJP.”