EPS, OPS, Anbumani, Premalatha leave for BJP’s Delhi dinner meet

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, the AIADMK honchos, have left for New Delhi to take part in the dinner meet being organised by BJP president Amit Shah.

Addressing mediapersons before leaving for the Capital, Panneerselvam said a decision on whether the AIADMK will be part of the next Central government, led by the BJP, will be taken during the administrative committee meeting of the party to be held 23 May.

“The exit polls have shown that the BJP will once again form the government and continue its people welfare works. The AIADMK will also emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly by-polls,” he said.

Apart from Panneerselvam and Palaniswami, Minister P Thangamani and the BJP-AIADMK alliance party leaders Premalatha Vijayakanth (DMDK), Anbumani Ramadoss (PMK), Sarath Kumar (AISMK) and Devanathan Yadav will also join the party. Amit Shah will host the dinner for NDA leaders at a private hotel in New Delhi around 7 pm.

Sources in the BJP said Amit Shah hosting a dinner for the NDA leaders is an attempt to chalk out the alliance’s strategy.

“Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also scheduled to meet the Union Council of Ministers before the dinner,” sources added.

The exit polls released Sunday have predicted a comfortable win for the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections. The results of the polls will be announced 23 May.

The exit polls have predicted that the BJP-led alliance will return to power after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

They put NDA safely above the majority mark at 312. Twelve of the 14 exit polls predicted the NDA getting full majority with seats ranging from 282 to 365.

A party or an alliance needs 271 seats to form the government as the Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 seats.

In 2014, the NDA had won 336 seats and the Congress, 44. The BJP had notched up its maiden majority by bagging 282 seats.

The AIADMK, then headed by chief minister J Jayalalithaa, contested solo during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and emerged victorious in 37 of the 39 constituencies in Tamilnadu.

This time, the AIADMK has forged a strong alliance and contested in 20 seats, allocating the remaining seats to alliance parties.

Apart from the Lok Sabha poll results, the AIADMK is also hoping to emerge victorious in the Assembly by-polls held for 22 seats.