No going back on decision to boycott TN polls: Vaiko

March 21, 2011 22:13 IST

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko on Monday said there was no going back on the party's decision to boycott the April 13 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.

Upset over All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's "adamant attitude and ill-treatment", MDMK had on Sunday decided to quit the electoral battle after the last minute efforts by the former to retain its five-year-old ally in the alliance did not succeed.

The AIADMK had offered 13 seats to MDMK while Vaiko said that his party would accept nothing less than 21 seats. Talking to his party workers in Tirunelveli on Monday, Vaiko said a situation had emerged by which the party had been forced to keep away from the elections and watch the politics. However, he said, the party would "emerge as a third and alternative force in Tamil Nadu in the coming years".

Meanwhile, Pon Radhakrishnan, the Bharatiya Janata Party state president, talking to mediapersons at Nagercoil, asked Vaiko to reconsider his decision.

"If Vaiko wished, he could join hands with the BJP to fight the polls. We are ready to welcome him with love and affection. But he has to decide whether to join hands with us," Radhakrishnan said.