Keen on altering Tamil Nadu’s bipolar political landscape, which is dominated by the DMK and the AIADMK, the BJP is aggressively projecting itself as a bankable alternative through a twin strategy. Firstly, party State president K. Annamalai is laboriously trying to showcase the BJP as the main opposition party by frequently taking on the ruling DMK. Second, post its national executive meeting in Hyderabad last month, as part of ‘Mission South’, the BJP has begun groundwork to highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “benevolence” towards Tamil Nadu.
After tasting marginal but noticeable success on the BJP’s own strength in February’s urban civic elections, Mr. Annamalai is leaving no stone unturned to expand the party’s base. He tours districts on most days, holds meetings with functionaries of the party’s numerous wings, and makes random stopovers to mingle with people of different sections. He also does not lose an opportunity to put the DMK on the defensive by levelling charges of irregularities in one department or the other. Irrespective of whether the charges have a substantial basis, State ministers have been forced to respond to them, keeping the subjects alive in the minds of the people. He is aided by an ecosystem that ensures that Tamil Nadu-level issues are escalated to a debating point on English television channels and reach intended Tamil households through social media.
The party has also put the State government on the back foot on certain issues by staging agitations. Three months ago, for instance, the government restrained local bodies from passing resolutions to rename streets/buildings. This was after the BJP protested against a proposal to rename a temple car street in Tiruvarur in memory of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who represented the Assembly constituency in his last two terms. The BJP has even sought to build a counter-narrative on the rising cost of fuel and domestic LPG cylinders by asking why the DMK government failed to cushion this price rise by fulfilling its electoral promises. The DMK in its manifesto had said it would reduce the price of petrol by ₹5 (the government reduced it by ₹3/litre last year), diesel by ₹4 and offer a subsidy of ₹100 per LPG cylinder.
