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Bharatiya Janata Party leader H Raja claimed that only a nationalist political party can be an alternative to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and it is BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
He further claimed that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) can be a substitute for DMK, not an alternative. "The BJP-led NDA government is emerging as an alternative to the corruption-ridden DMK government. The people are now realising that. AIADMK cannot be an alternative to DMK. It can be a substitute for DMK. An alternative can only be a nationalist political party. The people are driving the DMK and Congress candidates out of their villages," H Raja told ANI. All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in the first phase of the general elections on April 19 and the counting of votes, along with those from other phases, has been scheduled for June 4. In 2019, the DMK-led secular alliance swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 38 of the 39 seats in the state. The DMK, which is contesting 22 seats, leads an eight-party alliance that includes the Congress, which is contesting 9 seats; the CPI(M) and the CPI are contesting 2 seats each; the Indian Muslim League, which has fielded a lone candidate; the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, which is contesting 2 seats, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has fielded a lone candidate; and the Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK), whose candidate will contest on the DMK symbol. The AIADMK, which is leading an alliance of four parties in the Lok Sabha, will contest 34 seats, while its partners Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam will contest 5, Puthiya Tamilagam and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) one each. However, the latter two parties will contest the polls on the AIADMK symbol. The BJP, which is contesting 23 seats, will go into the polls with nine other partners; including the Pattali Makkal Katchi 10 seats), the Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) on 3 seats, former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK leader O Pannerselvam, who is contesting as an independent, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMU), headed by TTV Dhinakaran, on 2 seats, and the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, Puthiya Needhi Katchi and Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam on one seat each. The elections to 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19. (ANI)
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