Bharatiya Janata Party open for alliance, says PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is open for alliance and cherished his old friends, hinting his desire to his party’s presence in Tamil Nadu ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha Polls.

Talking to booth-level workers from five districts in Tamil Nadu through video conferencing, PM Narendra Modi recalled the "successful coalition politics" ushered in by former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the 1990s and said the BJP's doors were "always open".

"...20 years ago the visionary leader Atal ji brought in a new culture in Indian politics, that of successful coalition politics. He gave utmost importance to regional aspirations... BJP has followed the way Atal ji has shown us," Modi said.

The statement came as PM Narendra Modi answered questions from a worker over the party's thought of coalition with AIADMK, the DMK or Tamil superstar Rajinikanth.

The PM said a strong NDA was "an article of faith for us". "It is not a compulsion. Even when the BJP won a strong majority on its own, we preferred to run the government with our allies. We cherish our old friends and our doors are always open for parties," Modi said.