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BJP leaders meet Karunanidhi

Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party unit president K N Lakshmanan and general secretary L Ganesan called on Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence in Madras this morning.

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham pulling out its two ministers from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Ganesan had been maintaining a 'respectful distance' from Karunanidhi for a long time, which had provoked AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha to allege that the BJP was having secret links with Karunanidhi.

The DMK has five Lok Sabha MPs and its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress three. While both are now in the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and are ranged against communal forces, the actual stand they would take in case there is a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led coalition in Parliament is yet to be crystallised.

Analysts say Karunanidhi would do anything possible to prevent Jayalalitha from gaining an upper hand at the Centre.

Jayalalitha had been demanding the dismissal of the Karunanidhi government.

UNI

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