Politics

Growing BJP in Tamil Nadu: Is Udhayanidhi Stalin mature enough to stop BJP?

9 months ago
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BJP Tamilnadu

The Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai stated that in the 2024 general election, the prime contest in Tamil Nadu is between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He further explained that the BJP has emerged as the third-largest party in the State; hence, it decided to contest alone in the urban local body elections. Moreover, the BJP in Tamil Nadu would play a substantial role in re-electing Narendra Modi in 2024. But what is the ground reality of the BJP in the Tamil Nadu Politics? 

Ground Reality Check

A couple of months back, AIADMK cut ties with the BJP. Most of the political pundits pointed out that AIADMK desperately wanted to come out of the alliance, fearing that they may lose upcoming general and assembly elections. Secondly, Annamalai’s domination and impromptu activities within the alliance belittled the strong regional party AIADMK. For example, Annamalai’s statement his wife was “100% more powerful than Jayalalithaa” sparked outrage from the AIADMK’s cadres and leadership. Indeed, addressing most of the time as the AIADMK as a party inside the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) did not go well with all functionaries. 

The contentious statements made by Annamalai against former CM J. Jayalalithaa and other notable historical personalities have exacerbated the situation, evoking furious responses from leaders within the AIADMK party. In June 2023, the AIADMK party adopted a resolution condemning the actions of Annamalai, consequently fueling the ongoing feud and on September 2023, AIADMK ended its alliance with the BJP.

Is BJP growing in Tamil Nadu?

In a recent media interaction in Chennai, notable political strategist Prashant Kishor commented that, “BJP will be Bigger and Stronger Political force in Tamilnadu than what many believe. They’ll create traction among TN voters & gain a big in terms of Vote Share“

The BJP in Tamil Nadu is active on social media platforms after Annamalai took charge. The BJP is attempting to create an opinion about the consecutive Dravidian parties as corrupted and dragged the development of Tamil Nadu backwards. Apart from this, the BJP in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of Annamalai is doing a padayatra called ‘En Mann En Makkal‘ (My Land, My People) across the hinterlands of Tamil Nadu.

The padayatra aims to proclaim the Modi government’s achievements to the people and connect with the masses. However, it will take a long time for the BJP to connect with the grassroots level. There is visibility in the leadership of Annamalai, from his data-driven language to his vigorous attack on the opposition parties. Being a powerful orator in English and Tamil, he attracted youth and connected them to aspire to a change in TN politics. However, the ongoing effort and continuing process need to be converted into seats. 

Increasing Vote Share

In the 2022 Tamil Nadu’s Urban local body elections, BJP got more than 12 per cent vote share and in the Coimbatore Corporation, they got 15 per cent. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fought alone, secured 5.41% of the votes BJP emerged as the third-largest party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became victorious in a total of 305 seats among municipal corporations, municipalities, and panchayats.

According to data given by the State Election Commission, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contested in a total of 1,134 wards in the Corporations, obtaining a cumulative vote share of 7.17%. In the Municipalities, the party contested in 1,775 wards and received 3.31% of the votes. Additionally, the BJP competed in 2,685 wards in Town Panchayats, garnering a vote share of 4.3%.

Based only on the percentage of votes obtained, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demonstrated a better performance, securing 2.4 per cent of the votes in the 2011 municipal elections subsequent to its pullout from the AIADMK coalition. Nevertheless, the increased percentage of votes did not provide an impressive surge.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) implemented a strategic approach characterised by selectivity in allocating seats they intended to fight. The party needed more willingness to nominate candidates for all available seats, resulting in the absence of successful outcomes. The candidates recognised their spheres of influence and tactically fielded candidates in those regions.

Can Udhayanidhi Stalin stop the surging BJP?

 Recently, Udhayanidhi Stalin started to attack the BJP vigorously from their ideology to its leadership. A couple of months back. Udhayanidhi equates ‘Sanatana’ (Sanatana Dharma) with “mosquitoes, Dengue, Malaria, fever and Corona”, adding that it should be eradicated like these ailments. The BJP rebutted his statement as a call for genocide of Hindus.

Udhayanidhi later posted on X, clarifying that he had not called for “genocide”. “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality…,” he wrote in a message on X.

However, he never apologised for his comments despite strong opposition across India and filing several cases against him. He informed that he would face the case in the court. In the Madras High Court, Udhayanidhi submitted that being one of the torchbearers of the Dravidian movement, he was expected to adhere to and propagate the Dravidian principles. He further stated that he strive to bring equality, abolition of caste discrimination, upliftment of backward classes, empowerment of women and equal treatment of women and lower castes. Notably, his recent comment on’ Jai Shri Ram’ during the India-Pakistan attack was widely praised for his commitment towards the Dravidian ideology. He attacked the BJP and requested to foster fraternity and stop spreading communal and caste hatred. 

The recent ED and IT raids on DMK Ministers created a huge ruckus in the political circle. Countering them, Udhayanidhi said, The BJP is fearing now. That is the reason they sent IT and ED riads; they are acting like the teams of BJP. Even the Branch Secretaries of DMK will not be cowed down by BJP.

The discourse of his language and vehement attack on the BJP shows his intent to attack ideologically in the land of Periyar. He possesses the potential to disseminate strong dissent on BJP and RSS ideology. We must note that after his elevation to the rank of cabinet minister with new responsibilities, he focused more on countering the BJP in Tamil Nadu. The DMK cadre see him as the leader who is outspoken after his grandfather and former CM M. Karunanidhi.

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