Stalin’s DMK returns to the top in Tamil Nadu, BJP nowhere in sight

Trends are a shot in the arm for DMK chief M.K. Stalin while adding to the troubles of the ruling AIADMK, rudderless since the death of Jayalalithaa.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Working President MK Stalin with his party workers (Representational image)| PTI

Bengaluru: DMK chief M.K. Stalin has emerged as a formidable opponent for the ruling AIADMK while also allaying fears of his party cadre that the death of his father, K. Karunanidhi, may have dented the party’s poll prospects.

Trends show that not only is the DMK-led alliance leading in 37 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state but it is also ahead in 10 of the 22 assembly bypolls that were held in the state. The bypolls could decide the fate of the AIADMK government that is surviving on a wafer-thin majority of 113 seats in TN Assembly reduced to 213, excluding the Speaker.

The AIADMK, however, needs just five seats from the 22 bypolls; it is leading in 10.

The DMK’s campaign was simple and clear — the AIADMK, it stressed, was merely a puppet in the hands of the BJP government at the Centre. The ploy seems to have worked, more so as no national party has ever played a major role in the state for over 50 years, ever since the Dravidian parties assumed power.

The DMK had allied with the Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which commands a considerable amount of influence among the Scheduled Castes in the northern part of Tamil Nadu.

Setback for AIADMK

The early trends are a setback for the ruling AIADMK, which appears to have become rudderless since the death of its formidable former supremo, J. Jayalalithaa.

The party’s gamble to ally with the BJP has not paid any dividends. Political analysts say that the Edappadi K. Palaniswami government has not been able to effectively deliver on its promises of a stable government, an issue that was also raised by a stronger and rejuvenated DMK.

The government had also faced flak for the way it handled the Jallikattu issue and for not effectively utilising its closeness to the BJP government at the Centre to get the NEET exam, for medical colleges, in Tamil.

BJP’s ambitions get a reality check

The BJP’s ambitions in the state have also received a reality check. The party had contested in five Lok Sabha seats as part of its alliance with the AIADMK and the S. Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi.

The party had played its Hindutva card in a bid to woo the two major castes in the state — the Thevars and the Gounders.

Thevars, who are Other Backward Classes, are largely dominant in the southern region while the Gounders, also OBCs, are dominant in the western belt of the state. The BJP had also hoped to have the backing of the Vanniyar community, which is the prime voter base of the PMK.

The strategy has made little headway in these elections.