LOOKING FOR A GRAND ALLIANCE

THE BJP IS USING ITS ‘KINGMAKER’ IMAGE TO PUSH FOR A COALITION AND BREAK THE VICE-LIKE GRIP OF THE DRAVIDIAN PARTIES

- Amarnath K. Menon

The ruling All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the state BJP had been on a collision course in Tamil Nadu in the past few months, but poll exigencies seem to have forced a patch-up. On November 21, the two sides declared that the alliance will continue through the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election in AprilMay 2021. At an official meeting in Chennai, Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam also echoed Union home minister Amit Shah’s sentiments about the enduring relationship of the two parties. The ‘development versus dynasty’ rhetoric was also resuscitated as the two discussed the coming election battle with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Congress alliance.

Having lost two consecutive elections, the DMK, steered by M.K. Stalin, is determined to pull out all the stops to seal a win for the party. If he does manage it, the 67-year-old son of the late party patriarch, M. Karunanidhi, will become chief minister for the first time. The BJP, of course, has its own plans to finally secure a firm foothold in the state in 2021 and become a major force by 2026, when the next round of elections becomes due. So, after persuading the AIADMK to announce an alliance, the saffron party is now aggressively positioning itself as an anti-DMK force.

But the biggest challenge for the BJP in Tamil Nadu is to shake off the perception of being a part of the upper castes, notably Brahmins. The strategy, then, is to rope in supporters from different castes and communities and work on the alliance it has built with the AIADMK after the death of its iconic leader J. Jayalalithaa.