Finance Minister Jaswant Singh met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday amid speculation of a political realignment in the state.
Singh was once Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's interlocutor with the AIADMK chief. The meeting assumes significance in the context of an uneasy relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Jayalalithaa said she had raised the issue of need for increasing the financial allocation for drought relief and supply of rice to the state, but sources attach much importance to the meeting with Singh making a visit to the Tamil Nadu House.
Singh often acted as the troubleshooter for Vajpayee with Jayalalithaa, shuttling between Delhi and Chennai, during the tenure of his first government between 1998 and 1999.
Jayalalithaa, however, brushed aside questions at a press conference whether her party was getting close to the NDA. "It is your perception," she shot back at the reporters, describing her meeting with Singh as a 'business meeting'.