New Delhi: With Rajinkanth claiming that he won’t take the plunge in politics reportedly due to his health issue, the BJP has, finally, accepted Edappadi K. Palaniswami as its Chief Minister candidate and will fall back on its original alliance for Tamil Nadu’s Assembly elections. Meanwhile, the BJP sources said that Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran met Amit Shah in Delhi and talks are underway to accommodate AMMK in the AIADMK-BJP alliance for the upcoming elections. The purpose of this alliance is not to split anti-DMK votes in the state.
However, political analysts said that this would not help the AIADMK win polls as there is a strong anti-incumbency against the current regime. R.K. Radhakrishnan, senior political analyst, told The Sunday Guardian, “As of now, it looks like the DMK-led alliance has an upper hand in this election. The DMK is confident to win this election.”
Talking about the infighting in the DMK, Radhakrishnan said, “If there had been infighting, party cadre would have left the party. However, that has not happened other than DMK MLA Ku Ka Selvam, who joined the BJP in 2020.”
Kolahala Srenivaas, a senior journalist, said: “The BJP had never said that they will not accept Palaniswami as CM candidate. The party had said that the NDA would decide the CM candidate face in Tamil Nadu. As there is no NDA in Tamil Nadu, the BJP has no other option other than supporting EPS as the CM candidate.”
With Rajinikanth backing out from its initial plan to launch political party, the BJP has to contest the election with the AIADMK.
Srenivaas said, “The purpose of BJP pursuing joining hands with the AIADMK is that the alliance wants all the anti-DMK votes to split and help the DMK to form government.”
Moreover, there are talks that the Pattali Makkal Katchi is unhappy with the AIADMK. The PMK had demanded 20% reservation for Vanniyar community. Srenivaas said, “Now, after a lot of talks, the PMK has demanded to provide reservation for the community in Most Backward Class quota. However, the government has proposed to give 13% reservation under the MBC quota.”
Speaking about the chance of AIADMK winning elections and future prospects of the two Dravidian parties, Radhakrishnan said, “If the AIADMK wins 70-75 seats in the upcoming elections, it will be a big victory for the party. If this happens, there will a strong opposition in the Assembly.” He further said, “If the DMK loses this election, there will be a challenge to Stalin’s leadership and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s promotion within the party. I don’t see the DMK party stay united. Whereas, if the AIADMK loses, the party leadership will slip from the Palaniswami and O. Pannerselvam and go into the hands of Dhinakaran and his aunt and Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala.” He added, “It is important for either of the parties to catch the imagination of the voters. In the 2019 general elections, a narrative was built against the BJP in Tamil Nadu which helped the DMK and its alliance secure 39 parliamentary seats. So, if there is a similar narrative in the upcoming elections then any one of the parties will have the majority in the Assembly.” Talking about the third front, he said, “As of now, only Kamal Haasan’s MNM looks a viable option. He is putting the hard work needed to function as a party. He should learn from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to run a political party.”