Congress and BJP play second fiddle to Dravidian parties

The Lok Sabha elections to be held in the Tamil Nadu on April 18.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged the people of Tamil Nadu to cast their vote in favour of the Secular Progressive Alliance - the DMK-led front that includes the Congress.
"Let Tamil Nadu be ruled from the state itself. Tamil Nadu should not be ruled from Nagpur," Rahul said, referring to the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) parent orgnisation. Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Krishnagiri.
The Lok Sabha elections to be held in the Tamil Nadu on April 18, could be the last chance for the Congress to make a comeback to the state, where the party has been facing setbacks for decades.
The BJP's situation too is not different from the Congress. Its alliance with the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is the only chance to make inroads into the state.
However, both parties' future looks grim. Though the Congress is hoping for winning at least eight of the nine seats in Tamil Nadu, the victory may not be considered as a comeback for the national party.
"The Congress or the BJP have no presence in Tamil Nadu now. The nine seats they are contesting are just the generosity of the DMK leadership. Otherwise they wouldn't get a single seat. It's a sure win situation for the DMK," said a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader from Anna Nagar in Chennai on condition of anonymity.
"The Congress doesn't have a single prominent leader in the state other than P. Chidambaram. Though he is not in the fray this time, his son Karthi Chidambaram is contesting from Shivaganga seat, where we would ensure his victory," he said.
Another DMK leader Raja, from Villivakkom near Chennai, said the DMK-led alliance is sure to win 33 seats this year. "Considering the previous statistics, there are chances for us to sweep the state with 39 seats. But 33 is our minimum target," said Raja.
Historically, like many other states, the Congress was the largest political party in the state since Independence. However, the emergence of Dravidian politics with the formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (DMK) by CN Annadurai brought in some changes in the political scenario of the state. Since 1967, this party or any of its offsprings formed governments in the state and contributed to the previous national governments.
Even with the leadership of the alliance being left to the Dravidian parties, the Congress had a good say in seat-sharing deals till it was almost decimated in the state. After 1991, the Congress never managed to secure more than 10 parliamentary seats.
Further, factionalism ruled the roost in the Congress, like any other states. It was there from the earlier days when Jawaharlal Nehru invited Tamil Nadu Congress leader Kamaraj to assume the post of national president of the party.
"Whenever the Congress leadership in Delhi made decisions about alliances with Dravidian parties, it was done without consultation with the state leadership. They might have looked at the national politics, a few seats in the parliament. However, what they did was leaving the state to the regional Dravidian parties and taking their support in parliament. Consequently, this weakened the Congress as a whole in the state. Though I don't want to ruin the alliance's chances, I must admit that it was the earlier alliances that caused serious damage to the party here," said Pandian, a local Congress worker in Chennai.
"Now, we are playing subservient to the DMK. It's hard to bolster the party and restore its old respect," he lamented.
On the other hand, the BJP has been seeking an entry into the state with different alliances since its formation. However, none of these worked in its favour, despite winning a few seats itself. Tamil Nadu's Dravidian nature and BJP's north Indian upper-caste face are some of the factors that may spoil its chances in the state.
This time, more than the absence of its ally Jayalalithaa, what worries the party is the strong feeling against Prime Minister Narendra Modi across the state. "It's not that the factionalism and continuous splits in our party would cause a setback to the front. More than that, the anger of farmers and small businessmen against Modi government's policies are going to affect us," said an AIADMK worker, who was reluctant to divulge his name.
Sreenivasan, a vegetable vendor, vindicated his fears. "Last time, I voted for Amma (Jayalalithaa). This time I will vote for the rising sun (DMK's symbol). What did Modi do for us. He didn't even listen to the farmers when they stage a protest in the capital. Demonetisation killed many people and GST ruined the small businesses.
After Amma's death, AIADMK is completely useless. We have pinned our hopes in Stalin (DMK leader)," he said.
anuwarrier@khaleejtimes.com