CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu will decide who will be the Prime Minister of the country if the AIADMK-led alliance wins all the 40 seats in the State and Puducherry, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa said on Thursday.

Launching the campaign on Island Grounds along with the leaders of the alliance parties, Ms. Jayalalithaa said a new history would be written in India if the alliance swept the election in the State. "Tamil Nadu will get prominence. A government to the liking of Tamil Nadu would assume office at the Centre," she said.

Accusing Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi of using his clout at the Centre only to benefit his family and pledging the interests of the State to Delhi, Ms Jayalalithaa said she was not driven by selfish motives.

"I don’t have a family of my own. I will not surrender the livelihood of Tamil Nadu to the Centre. I will fight with the Centre to get all that is required for the development of Tamil Nadu," she stressed.

Ms. Jayalalithaa alleged that Chief Minister was making contradictory statements on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and playing second fiddle to the Centre to protect his government in Tamil Nadu.

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said there was a deliberate attempt by the Congress and the BJP to sideline regional parties, but now they were standing alone with all their allies deserting them, he said.

Criticising the DMK, which he called the Congress’only partner in the sinking ship of the UPA, Mr. Karat accused the UPA of "dereliction of duty" in the issue of protection of Sri Lankan Tamils. "Tamils are facing a life and death situation in Sri Lanka. If the UPA had spent at least a tenth of the time they had spent on the nuclear deal, the problem could have been solved," he said.

CPI general secretary A.B.Bardhan said the DMK-led DPA had conducted an "open and brazen murder of democracy" in the Tirumangalam by-elections and it was left to the people to save democracy by voting for the "third alternative," he said. Mr. Bardhan also claimed that the Congress’economic policies had only helped a handful of people while denying millions of the poor.

PMK leader S.Ramadoss said if the alliance won the elections, it would take up the Sri Lankan issue in a big way and find a peaceful solution.

MDMK general secretary Vaiko alleged that the DMK government had betrayed the interests of Tamil Nadu in all inter-State river water disputes. He called upon the people to defeat the DMK-Congress combine so that the future governments at the Centre would not think about betraying the Tamils.

CPI national secretary D.Raja, CPI(M) State secretary N Varadarajan and CPI State secretary D. Pandian spoke.