Decoding Dravida Nadu

The Union home minister바카라�s remarks came in response to speakers expressing reservations about sailing with the AIADMK, after the chief minister and deputy CM dec­lared that AIADMK바카라�s alliance with the BJP would continue for the state elections as well. Rather than deliberating on their objections, Shah asked them to concentrate on one task바카라�strengthen the party at the booth level. The alliance issue will be addressed by the party leadership, he told them.

바카라�For Amit Shah everything is long term. Here we were expecting him to give us a roadmap for the coming assembly elections. Instead, he asked us to be ready for the 2026 assembly elections. He gave us the example of Northeast바카라�on how long the BJP had been working there bef­ore making an impact electorally,바카라� observes K. T. Raghavan, BJP state general secretary. Shah바카라�s words also showed him to be a realist. He knew the BJP can only be a bit player in the 2021 elections, as the heavy lifting would be done by the AIADMK. That didn바카라�t fail to stop him from planning ahead.

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Shah바카라�s daylong trip to Chennai smoothed the wrinkles in the BJP바카라�s ruffled ties with the AIADMK after the ruling party disrupted the 바카라�Vetrivel바카라� yatra of its president, L. Murugan. But Murugan, on the advice of C.T. Ravi, minder of the state BJP, pushed ahead, moving from one city to another and embarking on a short procession from a famous temple before courting arr­est. 바카라�This format suits us better since every city where the procession is held becomes a hub and cadres from nearby areas join us in large numbers. We are particularly impressed by hundreds of women who join the procession, which proves that they바카라�ve been hurt by the crass remarks against 바카라�Kanda Sashit Kavasam바카라�,바카라� says Murugan.

The BJP바카라�s efforts to rally Hindu voters behind god Murugan by exploiting the attack on the Kavasam is part of its game plan to alter the state바카라�s voting pattern based on caste and affiliation to either of the DMKs. 바카라�We have to factor in the legacy of Tamil Nadu. It is the land of majestic temples and great spiritual and religious works like Kamba Ramayana, Thiruppavai, Thiruvasagam and Thirukkural. How can Tamil and Hindu identities be different from one another? We are merely bridging this artificial divide created by the DMK,바카라� reasons C.T.  Ravi.

While Hindutva may take time to seep in, the BJP seems to be in a hurry to mop up leaders from other parties. 바카라�We need to have winnable candidates who have their own appeal in their constituencies바카라�. Unlike the Congress, which first picks up seats and then hunts for candidates, we want to identify winnable seats based on candidates and our political base,바카라� T. Narayanan, BJP spokesperson, explains the rationale behind drafting leaders from other parties.

The BJP aims to contest at least 25 to 30 seats, hoping a decent strike rate would ens­ure its presence, having had no representative in the state legislature for nearly two decades. It last managed to win four assembly seats as part of the DMK front, when the two parties were in the Vajpayee-led NDA. The DMK front lost miserably; ever since, the BJP has been avoided in assembly elections, though it finds allies for Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP바카라�s immediate task is to stop the DMK from forming the next government, for which it needs the grassroots network of the AIADMK, though the ruling party may not be popular with BJP supporters. 바카라�But we are the best option the BJP presently has, since Rajnikanth바카라�s entry looks doubtful. We are as much a Hindu party as the BJP바카라�one reason why Jayalalithaa could walk away with BJP votes as she was seen as a Hindu leader with better chances of winning than the BJP,바카라� obs­erves an AIADMK Minister.

The AIADMK also needs the BJP as its presence can be used to present a stronger opposition to the DMK. The DMK may also find it difficult to tap ind­ustrialists and businessmen for don­ations, since they would not want to antagonise the Centre.

By G.C. Shekhar in Chennai