The political temperatures in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu have risen dramatically after Sunday as the AIADMK took to threatening its alliance partner – BJP in the runup to the 2021 assembly polls. The AIADMK, BJP and PMK are among the major partners currently ruling the state of Tamil Nadu. Particularly after the BJP was successful in reducing alliance partners like the Shiv Sena and JD(U) in states like Maharashtra and Bihar to second fiddles, the AIADMK knows very well that it too will meet the same fate at the hands of the saffron party in Tamil Nadu shortly.
As such, the AIADMK has resorted to flexing non-existent muscle against the BJP and is openly declaring that the party which is ruling India must submit to the terms and conditions of the ‘Dravidian’ party in Tamil Nadu. In the presence of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other senior leaders, AIADMK Deputy Coordinator K P Munusamy said, “Be it a national party or state party; the government will be led by the AIADMK. There is no necessity for a coalition government. If any political party comes forward for an alliance arrangement with an idea of a coalition government, let them please think about it.”
The AIADMK has also arrogantly ruled out the prospect of the BJP being accommodated in the government after the elections early next year, in which the party founded by late MGR thinks that it will emerge victorious with an earth-shattering majority all by its own might. Among the many conditions of the AIADMK for the BJP, some clearly stand out. The BJP has to endorse Chief Minister K Palaniswami’s candidature for the CM’s post for the polls and agree to its other terms – like non-participation in government and if not, the saffron party should rethink its 2021 electoral options.
Of course, one would think that the AIADAMK is making such bold assertions from a position of strength. However, the incumbent party is itself on quite a weak wicket in Tamil Nadu, with close to ten years of anti-incumbency hindering prospects of the party registering another win in the state all on its own. Already, Rajinikanth is set to play a spoilsport for many traditional Tamilian parties, and the superstar has given umpteen reasons for many to believe that his party would ally with the BJP in the upcoming polls.
Read more: Rajinikanth is launching a new party in Tamil Nadu. That’s one potential BJP ally there
And then, there is the DMK factor which the ruling party cannot seem to work around. The DMK had swept the state during the 2019 General elections. As such, how the AIADMK thought it fit to threaten alliance partners three months prior to the state going to polls remains incomprehensible for many. Interestingly, the AIADMK has been growing increasingly vocal about its “Dravidian” ethos of late, something which is despised by the BJP as a fraudulent ideology seeking to create a strong sense of sub-nationalism within the people of Tamil Nadu.
With AIADMK going all-out against the BJP, the saffron party must work out a Tamil Nadu strategy if it hasn’t already, and immediately work towards securing an alliance with Rajnikanth and other like-minded partners.
ADMK is definitely losing the elections. It will break up into minimum 2 or more factions. It is just playing a game of bluff with BJP. Hope TAMILNADU will get rid of. both the main local parties this time.
With the non-Tamil brahmin Rajnikanth announcing his opting out of Tamilnadu active politics only today (29/12/2020), one could wonder if this article was posted more in haste as a prediction, than as an analysis of the development after a little wait.
Anyway, Tamilnadu is so much steeped in anti-Tamil-brahminism (= तमिळ ब्रह्मद्वेशम्, Tamil brahmadves’am) that the antipathy blatantly seeps out everywhere through every pore right from the very core. Leave alone Sanatana Dharma, anything clean, straight, decent, nice and pious in particular— be it speech, demeanor, music, theater or any other life activity — is construed as and filtered out for Tamil brahmin preaching or practice. In other words, anything enticing might excite opposition and incite suppression & elimination. Tamil Brahmins are entrapped into vicious public & private spat & combat, both in their presence & absence, forced to eat the atrocity beef, and tossed into the forward caste dustbin. They are thus actively not only excluded, but also pursued and purged from all aspects of praise and promotion. There is so much widespread intolerance of Sanatana Dharma, which is viewed more in line with Tamil brahmin lifestyle and different from the state’s own Tamil, extra/supra-brahmin Shaivite polytheism, which in turn is falling prey to Abrahamic onslaught & assimilation.
So, for the BJP to begin to be even casually noticed in Tamilnadu— leave alone be ardently appreciated— is a far cry from being assiduously supported, for very many years to come. This is true despite the BJP’s opportunistic lackluster commitment to Sanatana Dharma itself coupled with bending over backwards to appease & attract all possible class, caste & communal votebanks.