Now that the Kovid-19 figures are coming down, the electoral fever in Tamil Nadu is gaining momentum. Although there is still more than five months left for the elections to the state assembly, the election in this southern state has started picking up and major political parties have geared up for the elections. The Election Commission has also released the draft voter list on 16 November.
If sources are to be believed, informal discussions have already begun on potential alliances and political parties have started talking to each other about seat-sharing and other conditions. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP had done extremely poorly, it won just one seat in Tamil Nadu, while the Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory across the country. After the Lok Sabha elections, though the two parties had talked about sticking to the coalition religion, it does not seem that the latest political developments are going on in the state. The controversy came to light when the BJP resented the ruling party AIADMK in the state for not taking any strict action against the YouTube channel called 'Karuppar Kootam', which commented against the spiritual literature 'Kandha Sasthi Kavasam' related to Lord Muruga. was.
BJP spokesperson T Narayanan expressed frustration that neither Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami nor Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam condemned the channel for the derogatory clip. He also claimed that the police took action only four days after the BJP filed a complaint. In response to this, AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Satyan said that his party cannot be expected to react like BJP to some incidents. He said that the AIADMK is known as a secular party, which favors all sections of the society. Our philosophy is based on the idea of former Chief Minister CN Annadurai, which was followed by MGR and Jayalalithaa.
Subsequently, the state government led by AIADMK joint convenor Palaniswami rejected the three language policy introduced by the central government in the new education policy. Palaniswamy said that he felt pain and sorrow at the move of the Center. This clearly shows that the AIADMK is not going to accept everything from the BJP. Subsequently, Palaniswami rejected the Centre's suggestion that states should borrow from the market for the estimated GST deficit. This again disappointed the BJP. The latest incident is that the AIADMK government refused to allow the Vatrivel Yatra proposed by BJP state president L Murugan. However, despite not getting permission, Murugan and BJP workers are leading the rally and police are trying to stop it.
Amidst all this, Union Home Minister and BJP strongman Amit Shah is scheduled to visit the state to attend an event and it is likely that he will meet Palaniswami on 21 November. The electoral alliance is a top priority in the negotiating agenda. Sources say that the AIADMK high command is exploring its first options and is concerned that the BJP's presence in the coalition will increase the party's distance from minorities, which are already in support of its arch-rival DMK. Such an indication also suggests that in an article published on November 16 in the AIADMK mouthpiece, there was sarcasm on the BJP and an attempt was made to present such a picture that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was given equal respect to all religions and castes She gives.
Meanwhile, the release of VK Sasikala, a close aide of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, is also expected, which could play a major role in the AIADMK's victory in the upcoming election. How party workers react to the release of 'Chinnamma' (younger mother) and what will happen next is completely veiled. If Sasikala decides to merge her nephew TTV Dinakaran-led AMMK with the AIADMK, it will give the ruling party an edge and increase its chances of victory. Conversely, if some important people leave the AIADMK and join the AMMK, it could prove costly for the party led by Panneerselvam-Palaniswami and the opposition DMK, which has been away from power for the last 10 years . MK Alagiri, the elder brother of DMK leader Stalin, has indicated that he may form his new political party. He has told a TV channel that he will decide further only after taking feedback from his supporters.
Meanwhile, it is also being said that he may also meet Amit Shah, who is visiting the state, though Alagiri has denied this. Sources in the AIADMK camp say that the pair of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, who have recently come to an agreement after bitter rhetoric, are watching all options carefully and know the good and bad consequences of moving away from the BJP. Without an all-powerful ally like BJP, facing elections is not an easy decision. Also, the AIADMK may get a saffron color by being with the BJP. Obviously, when Amit Shah visits the state, then there can be interesting twist in the politics of the state.