New Delhi/IBNS: In a boost for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, 15 former AIADMK MLAs and one ex-MP joined the saffron party amid the camp's outreach to the south Indian state.

The leaders were welcomed to the party fold in the national capital New Delhi on Wednesday.

Inducting the leaders, BJP president in Tamil Nadu, K Annamalai, said, "The new joinees have decided to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji in the state of Tamil Nadu."

"The new joinees are very senior leaders, who carry a wealth of experience," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently made frequent visits to Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli in January 2024 in a bid to expand his party to the southern part of India.

Some media reports have also speculated Modi might contest from a seat in Tamil Nadu, which is now run by DMK-Congress government.

A former BJP assembly candidate told The Quint, "If PM Modi contests from a seat in Tamil Nadu, he is guaranteed to win. People in Tamil Nadu are emotional.

"They will respond positively once they see that the PM wants to make the state his political home."

Modi is presently an MP from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi constituency.