'Rivalry behind BJP candidate withdrawal'

COIMBATORE: Facing a tough battle from BJP in the local body elections, chief minister J Jayalalithaa launched an attack on the saffron party, alleging that it was riddled with internal conflicts.
Amidst widespread charges that AIADMK had influenced BJP Mayor candidate from Tirunelveli to withdraw her nomination, Jayalalithaa fired a fresh salvo charging that intra party rivalry was behind backtracking of the BJP candidates.
"There are internal conflicts in BJP. BJP men are accusing AIADMK for the withdrawal of nomination of their party candidates to hide these conflicts," she told a massive gathering of party cadres in Coimbatore on Monday.
"A BJP leader had alleged that AIADMK had paid a huge sum and got the party's Tirunelveli Mayor candidate Vellaiammal to withdraw the nomination. The same leader had stated that they had kept her at a BJP functionary's house. When she was in her custody, how could AIADMK men get her to withdraw?" she asked, adding that they were accusing AIADMK to hush up the factional feud in BJP. It was due to this false allegation that Vellaiammal joined AIADMK, she said.
Jayalalithaa reiterated her appeal not to vote for national parties. "More than 80% of the councillors in Coimbatore are from AIADMK. So if you vote for BJP or CPM, it will not benefit you," she said. Though CPM is also in the fray for Mayor post, Jayalalithaa trained her guns mostly on BJP as the saffron party is posing a tough challenge to AIADMK.
Taking a dig at DMK for staying away from elections, she said the focus of national parties would be the Centre and not Tamil Nadu. "If they are not bothered about Tamil Nadu, are they going to bother about Coimbatore corporation," she asked. Whether Cauvery, Katchatheevu or Mullaperiyar, the national parties never batted for Tamil Nadu, she said.