Annamalai rules out BJP - TVK talks

Chennai: Former BJP state president K Annamalai on Tuesday ruled out any possibility of BJP allying with actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu, stating that the two parties are incompatible.

"Coffee and tea cannot be mixed and consumed together," he told reporters at the Saidapet court, where he appeared in connection with a defamation suit he filed against DMK organisation secretary RS Bharathi over remarks linking the BJP to the Kallakurichi liquor deaths. "Our state president Nainar Nagenthran has clarified that there were no talks with Vijay,'' he said when asked whether the BJP was exploring an alliance with TVK.




Annamalai said the NDA alliance led by the AIADMK was strong in TN. ``We are ready to face the elections and are confident of victory,'' he said adding that the Prime Minister's visit to Trichy on Wednesday will reaffirm the strength of the NDA.

Later in the day, Nainar Nagenthran told reporters in Chennai that the NDA was not delaying seat-sharing talks in Tamil Nadu hoping for the TVK to join the BJP front. "Agencies such as the CBI and Enforcement Directorate function independently, just like the Election Commission of India," denying charges linking alliance talks and CBI summons to Vijay.

Asked about PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss' statement that new parties could join the NDA, Nagenthran said several parties were waiting to join NDA. However, when asked specifically whether the NDA would welcome TVK into the alliance, he declined to comment.

CTR Nirmal Kumar, joint general secretary of TVK, said the party would not respond to speculation when asked about reports of talks with the BJP.