Ramdas Athawale's RPI to contest polls in West Bengal & Tamil Nadu, to hold talks with BJP
'There will be talks with the BJP for seats in both states. RPI will create one crore new members,' announced Ramdas Athawale on Twitter.
- India News
- 2 min read
Republican Party of India (RPI) chief Ramdas Athawale on Monday announced that his party had decided to contest West Bengal and Tamil Nadu elections in alliance with the BJP. "The National Executive of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) has decided to contest elections in Bengal and Tamil Nadu. There will be talks with BJP for seats in both states. RPI will create one crore new members," Athawale tweeted.
Athawale enters fray
Back in December 2020, Ramdas Athawale had announced that his faction - Republican Party of India - will contest the upcoming polls in West Bengal contesting on 10 Vidhan Sabha seats with the saffron party in a bid to overthrow the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. Elections for the 294-seater West Bengal Assembly are due in April 2021.
"The Republican Party of India (Athawale) will field its candidates in the assembly seats of West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress will be defeated in the upcoming elections and the NDA government will be formed in West Bengal," Athawale had tweeted.
The announcement for Tamil Nadu however, comes as a novel development with the state witnessing a war over Jayalalithaa's legacy between the AIADMK and AMMK. Meanwhile, Sasikala's release has electrified the battle in Tamil Nadu ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections, posing a major threat to incumbent Chief Minister E Palaniswami.
Speaking to the media on Monday after her arrival in Tamil Nadu, the confidante of the late former CM J Jayalalithaa has announced that she would enter full-fledged politics soon. "Party workers are eagerly awaiting me. I am a slave to affection, Tamil people, Tamil workers. But I will never bow down to oppression," she said.
Meanwhile, the BJP has announced that it will continue its alliance with AIADMK after briefly courting the idea of engaging in talks with Stalin's estranged brother MK Alagiri. Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are due in April-May 2021.
Published By : Ananya Varma
Published On: 8 February 2021 at 22:26 IST