BJP chief Nadda in Tamil Nadu on Thursday

New Delhi, Jan 13: BJP president J P Nadda will be visiting poll-bound Tamil Nadu on Thursday. The party said he would attend the ''Namma Ooru Pongal'' event, a state-wide programme launched by the saffron organisation to reach out to the people, in Chennai.

Nadda will also be addressing Thuglak magazine''s 51st anniversary function.

The BJP has been trying to carve a space for itself in the southern state where the two Dravidian parties, the ruling AIADMK and the DMK, have been the main contenders for power.

The BJP had tied up with the AIADMK for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but it has not made any formal announcement about an alliance for the assembly polls, which are expected to be held in April-May.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also likely to be in the state on the day. The party''s state president K S Alagiri had said on Tuesday that Gandhi would visit Tamil Nadu on Pongal day and witness the traditional bull-taming event ''Jallikattu''.