Tamilnadu elections…BJP has a fair chance this time, However…
The Tamilnadu elections are coming and a lot of activities are being seen on this front. HM Amit Shah will be visiting Tamilnadu today and is expected to meet many leaders from the state across the board.
Tamilnadu is a strange case of politics. The Dravidian movement of the state has caused immense harm to the state with a parochial mindset that used an anti Hindu/ anti North Indian and anti Brahminism stance to grow. Add to this the new anti Modi front also which has come up in the past few years.
However this has also led to the grouping of Hindu votes and will become a deciding factor in the state.
There are reports that the DMK will not be able to exploit the voters this time because of a lacklustre leadership. Stalin has failed to lift the sentiments of the masses. AIADMK has not shown any remarkable job though her performance is also not that bad. Therefore in the absence of both Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi the state will be seeing an election without her two most powerful leaders. It will be seen as a fight between E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam on one side and MK Stalin on the other.
Many AIADMK leaders believe the alliance with BJP is only bringing long-lasting harm to the party. However, the party in a way owes its very existence now to the BJP. Without the active role of the BJP and even some RSS leaders, the merger of rival factions led by EPS and OPS wouldn’t have happened in 2017. Without the merger, the ruling dispensation would have lost their strength in the Assembly before a powerful opposition led by DMK.[Indian Express].
The BJP on her part has placed Murugan a Dalit leader, as state president which is seen as a powerful move by the party. Recently, the state BJP also launched the Vetrivel yatra to show her presence and the party president Murugan led it from the front.
Recently, Leading Tamil film actor-turned-politician Khushbu Sundar’s move to join the BJP has evoked mixed response in the social media. Another development is about the appointment of Vanthia Srinivasan as BJP Mahila morcha president. However she is not seen as a very strong leader and has problems interacting in hindi.
This leaves the ground for the third parties that will try again their luck. Among others there are Kamal Hasan and Rajnikant and a host of many others. Kamal Hasan has lost his charm while Rajnikant has still some fan following. But it is said that his aura has also diminished in the years.
There is also the X-factor, TTV Dinakaran. The nephew of Jayalalithaa’s live-in aide VK Sasikala, Dhinakaran has caused a split in the ranks of the ruling AIADMK and delivered a surprise victory in Jayalalithaa’s home turf – the RK Nagar seat in Chennai – by claiming to be the true inheritor of her legacy. [ndtv].
Conclusion
To sum up this is the best chance for BJP to score in Tamilnadu. Many people in the state look towards BJP as their saviour. The commercial belt of Tirupur and around has been embolden with Nirmala Sitharaman as Finance minister. However the BJP has not got her organisation network well in the past. There was a lot of dissatisfaction among party workers and state citizens over the choice of state leaders. Some BJP national leaders were also seen in dim light.
Amit Shah has to meet as many people and karyakartas to get the ground reality correct. If he is able to get the right feedback only then the BJP will be able to open an account in this all important state which is falling to conversion boom and anti Hindu rhetoric. The RSS too has to put her best foot forward and focus on the state dedicatedly. Somehow Tamilnadu has been missing the attention that it deserves. We hope that this time everything will fall in line.
Dr Asheesh Shah
Samanvaya
Http://www.samanvaya.org.in
