Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party President Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Saturday that the party will not contest the Lok Sabha elections in the state by itself. She was speaking to media persons at Coimbatore airport, en route Tirupur city to oversee arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally on Sunday, The Hindu reported.

Narendra Modi will address public meetings in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu today.

“We have already started our campaign for the general election,” Soundararajan added according to The New Indian Express. “Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Madurai had a tremendous impact on the state as far as the party is concerned. His Tirupur visit would be a significant moment for us and the state.”

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SR Shekar, treasurer and spokesperson of the BJP’s state unit, said Modi may “clear the air on a possible alliance” at Sunday’s event. “The prime minister’s rally will be a platform for us to reach out to voters of eight Lok Sabha constituencies – Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Nilgiris, Salem, Dharmapuri and Namakkal,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will share the stage with Modi in Tirupur. However, S Vaigaichelvan, a spokesperson of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, downplayed this, the Hindustan Times reported. “Our chief minister is just participating in a government event,” he said. “We cannot say anything about the alliance now. The BJP rally has nothing to do with the AIADMK.”

AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai also steadfastly opposed any tie-up with the BJP. “When BJP state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan has been saying that they will destroy the Dravidian parties, we cannot let them grow in Tamil Nadu,” he told reporters in Karur district.

The Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats to the Lower House of Parliament are expected to be held between April and May.