CHENNAI: Sensing an opportunity to occupy the prime opposition space, the BJP is gearing up to contest the civic bypolls by constituting committees to examine prospective candidates while the Congress, fighting political irrelevance is announcing its decision on Tuesday.
Even as the saffron party is planning to contest three Corporations and seven municipalities, its ally MDMK went to town with its decision to boycott the elections.
BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan, in a statement, said the party was holdings talks with allies on the bypolls. While district-level committees are preparing the list of prospective candidates of the party in various local bodies, the panel headed by former State president KN Lakshmanan would interact with functionaries and cadre on the candidates for Coimbatore mayorship and chairpersons for Coonoor, Vriddhachalam and Arakkonam.
Another committee has been entrusted with the similar task for the Mayorship of Tuticorin and Tirunelveli Corporations and for chairpersons for Kodaikanal, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Sankarankovil municipalities. Once the committees submit their reports, the names of the candidates would be finalised, Tamilisai said.
The MDMK, one of the allies of the BJP, announced its decision to boycott the elections after its high-level committee meeting here earlier in the day. This comes close on the heels of the PMK, another constituent of the saffron combine, staying away from the contest. Another key ally, the DMDK, is yet to decide on contesting the elections.
Meanwhile the VCK and MMK, allies of the DMK, toeing the line of the Dravidian major, have decided to boycott the by-elections.