Jayalalithaa shatters BJP's post-poll alliance dream

NEW DELHI: A day after BJP���s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani described AIADMK as a post-poll ally, contending that back-channel negotiations with the Tamil party were on, Ms J Jayalalithaa poured cold water on his calculations, denying any such talks.

���I wish to clarify that such reports are baseless and AIADMK is not conducting talks with any political party for a post-poll alliance,������ the party supremo said in a statement issued in Chennai on Monday.

Mr Advani, in retrospect, had clearly jumped the gun by going public with the NDA���s post-poll gameplan. AIADMK, which has forged an umbrella coalition comprising PMK, MDMK and the Left parties to take on the DMK-Congress combine in Tamil Nadu-Puducherry in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, could not have allowed Mr Advani���s claims to go uncontested. The Left parties, which are part of the alliance led by AIADMK, could not have been expected to take the BJP leader���s assertion lying down.

The AIADMK chief asserted that her party had aligned with MDMK, PMK and the two Left parties only. "AIADMK has entered into an alliance with CPI, CPM, PMK and MDMK for the coming general elections," she added.

In an interview to a news channel on Sunday, Mr Advani had replied in the affirmative when he was asked whether his party was hold back-channel discussions with AIADMK.

Realising that he may have jumped the gun, Mr Advani���s sought to effect a course-correction a day later. "It is for them (AIADMK) to decide. I simply mentioned about it,������ he told newspersons in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.