Chennai, May 15 (NDTV): J Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has expelled a leader from her party for suggesting that she will ally with Narendra Modi, widely expected to be India's next prime minister.
K Malaisamy, a former parliamentarian from the AIADMK, said on Wednesday that Modi "is a great friend of Jayalalithaa" even if "they may differ politically".
"If he becomes Prime Minister, then madam (J Jayalalithaa) would like close ties," Malaisamy had opined. He has been charged with "bringing disrepute to the party."
Jayalalithaa, a former movie star, had not contradicted him yesterday, telling reporters "Let's wait for the results" which will be declared tomorrow.
NDTV's exit poll shows Modi and his party, the BJP, trouncing the Congress and landing a majority with allies. Jayalalithaa is forecast to emerge as the third-largest party with 32 parliamentary seats.
The exit poll gives the BJP's coalition 279 seats, seven more than it needs to form the government.
In order to build a more stable coalition, there has been speculation that Modi will seek a partnership with Jayalalithaa's AIADMK.
The two leaders have talked in the past of a good political equation and they attended each other's swearing-in ceremonies as chief ministers of their states.
Though they censured each other in rallies in Tamil Nadu during this election campaign, Modi has hinted that they are close despite "political differences."
Jayalalithaa began criticizing Modi after key Muslim groups sided with the DMK, her political rival in Tamil Nadu.
She was unsuccessfully wooed by leaders from the Left and Mulayam Singh Yadav who have been talking of assembling a Third Front - a grouping of parties not aligned with either the Congress or the BJP.