BJP charts its poll course

The BJP Parliamentary Board that met today for a preliminary assessment for the polls had a mixed bag to sort out — a generous Jayalali...

The BJP Parliamentary Board that met today for a preliminary assessment for the polls had a mixed bag to sort out — a generous Jayalalithaa is ready to grant seven seats. The deal with the TDP is a few seats away while in a few states, the party will chart its course alone.

The seat-sharing with the JD(U), Trinamool and SAD will remain the same. The BJP will go it alone in Assam, Jharkhand and Haryana. Altogether, it will contest around 350 seats.

Party general secretary Pramod Mahajan said the arrangement between the BJP and AIADMK will be ‘‘announced within two days’’.

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Jayalalithaa, who had initially agreed on a maximum of six seats for the BJP, is now ready to part with seven. Since she is keen on Puddukottai, represented by Thirunavukkarasu, the BJP may sacrifice him.

While the BJP will not rescue Trinamool’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, three recent entrants from Bihar and Jharkhand — Md Anwarul Haque, Nagmani and Jai Narayan Prasad Nishad — are likely to be given party tickets.

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