Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always welcomed alliances.

PM Modi's response came when he was interacting with BJP workers from Arakkonam, Krishnagiri, Erode, Cuddalore and Dharampur in Tamil Nadu through his NaMo app.

A BJP worker asked PM about rumour that the party may ally with AIADMK or Rajnikanth or DMK, he said, "20 years ago, Atalji brought a new culture of successful coalition politics in Indian politics. BJP has always followed the path Atalji showed us. Strong NDA is an article of faith, not a compulsion," ANI quoted PM as saying during the interaction.

"Even when BJP won majority on its own, we preferred to run govt with our allies. We cherish our old friends and our doors are always open for parties. But more than political issues, winning alliance is alliance with people," it added.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1083266590928302084

During his interaction, PM Modi also shared his government's development report card especially in relation to Tamil Nadu. Modi said more than 47 lakh toilets were built in Tamil Nadu with more than 12,000 villages were declared open defecation free in the last four years.

More than 27 lakh women have got some-free lives with Ujjwala LPG connections in Tamil Nadu, the PM said.

The Prime Minister didn't miss the occasion to target the Congress party. He said apart from corruption and the mismanagement of the economy, the Congress did deep damage to our armed forces.

For decades, they had made the defence sector a den of brokers and middlemen, the PM added.