Also, the BJP in recent years has been very articulate in espousing the cause of Tamil fishermen and Sri Lankan Tamils.
With strident pro-Tamil parties like MDMK on its side, there is an expectation that the pro-Tamil vote bank would swing the NDA way. When all factors are taken into account BJP hopes that it would be able to win a good number of seats.
It may be easier said than done as the AIADMK and DMK alliances are very aggressive in electioneering and have strong, dedicated vote banks.
The Modi wave could be true or just hype. It may or may not fetch electoral dividends, but the undisputable fact is it was only the “perceived wave” that helped BJP bring together political parties into the NDA fold, including bitter rivals, the DMDK and PMK.
Vaiko's MDMK, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and the IJK got into the BJP combine only propelled by the NaMo factor.
DMDK has been given the lion's share of 14 of the 39 seats, followed by BJP and PMK at eight each. MDMK will be fighting from seven seats while IJK and KMDK will field candidates from one constituency each.
Interestingly, the groundwork on putting up a formidable alliance gained momentum just after Modi attracted a huge turnout to his party's youth conference in Tiruchirappalli in September last and followed it up with a good showing at a rally here.
