Why BJP Failed to click in Dravidian territory?
Ramanathan Krishnan, INN/Chennai, @infodeaofficial
Though BJP has improved its 2014 tally by crossing 300 marks on its own in the just concluded general elections, for Tamil Nadu, the party has failed to win even a single seat despite having favorable conditions to make inroads into the southern territory.Â
For the state which marked the absence of two stalwarts – former Chief Ministers Jayalathaa of AIADMK and M Karunanidhi of DMK, BJP has messed-up terribly and failed to win the confidence of voters. Despite the fact that its state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan has the dubious distinction of losing
elections continuously over the last few years and ran lackadaisical election campaign in 2014, BJP’s central command reposed faith in her again to lead 2019 elections in the state.
elections continuously over the last few years and ran lackadaisical election campaign in 2014, BJP’s central command reposed faith in her again to lead 2019 elections in the state.
Another decision that went against the party was to align with AIADMK, one of the two Dravidian parties which have been ruling the state over the last four decades, albeit alternatively. AIADMK, with the absence of Jayalalithaa, has been reduced to an aimless disposition, now being run by two prominent factional heads.
The senior BJP leaders in the state including Pon Radhakrishnan, H Raja, Vanathi and CP Radhakrishnan all ran parallel campaigns with their own supporters and did not work for the party’s victory in the state. The state president did not have control over these leaders and everyone wanted to grab the media attention with their individual statements which went against the interest of the party.Â
People have seen the BJP leaders as a bunch of jockers who can speak at different tones over a single issue. Infighting, lack of vision, unified poll strategy and failed to take several central schemes which the state was enjoying for the last five years to the voters, were some of the reasons the party got
whitewashed in the election. The lone seat which was represented by Pon Radhakrishnan in Kanyakumari in 2014 too went to DMK combine this time which has won 37 out of 39 seats with election to Vellore seat being postponed.
Also, the state BJP has no clue to counter strong anti-Modi campaign spear-headed by opposition parties- DMK and Congress.
Also, the state BJP has no clue to counter strong anti-Modi campaign spear-headed by opposition parties- DMK and Congress.
The central team to has ignored Tamil Nadu while concentrating more at other states, as no prominent leaders including Prime Minister Modi have made frequent visits here in support of their candidates. Modi has attended more meetings in West Bengal and Karnataka compared to Tamil Nadu, which has made a huge impact in terms of the number of seats BJP has won there.
Tamilisai and her team are in dilemma now to celebrate BJP’s resounding victory across India as the party has drawn blank in the state losing the lone seat it held in 2014. The party’s central leadership is understood to have decided to revamp the entire state unit once the government formation was
completed.Â
completed.Â
Surely, the state BJP has failed to capitalize on the situation in the state and did not have a clear campaign strategy to win the mandate. With the state facing assembly elections in 2021 and DMK is emerging as a strong force to reckon with, BJP has a tough job in hand to get a dynamic leader in the state unit which can bring sweeping changes ahead of the assembly polls.