Chennai: The BJP in Tamil Nadu appears to be smitten by the politics of holding yatras, though they have seldom yielded the desired results in the crucial southern state.
Following the footsteps of his predecessor, L Murugan, now a Union Minister, the saffron party's state president Annamalai is launching his yatra christened as 'En Makkal En Man', from the coastal pilgrim town of Rameswaram on Friday. And, it is to be flagged off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Traversing through the 234 assembly constituencies the five-phase yatra is aimed at galvanising the party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by increasing its footprint in the state's political landscape, dominated by the Dravidian parties. Volunteers and party cadre would join him in the 2600 km yatra – 1700 km by foot and 900 km by bus. The party expects to conclude the yatra in Chennai by January 20 next.
The first phase, commencing from Rameswaram, will cover the southern districts of Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Theni, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari, and Tirunelveli. It will conclude on August 22. The choice of Rameswaram is significant since there are reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting from the Ramanathapuram seat. In the last general election, the BJP's Nainar Nagendran who lost to the DMK nominee Nawas Kani, had polled nearly 3.5 lakh votes.
Though this is not the first time that the BJP is launching a yatra, the rank and file of the party are enthused. And it also comes after Annamalai took on the DMK by releasing the DMK Files II, listing corruption charges against the Stalin government. “The yatra's objective is to expose the DMK government's corruption and inefficiency as well as highlight the achievements of Prime Minister Modi, particularly his contribution to Tamil and Tamil Nadu. A booklet on Modi's achievements and Annamalai's letters would be distributed to the people. As part of the yatra, 11 massive public meetings will be held in which Union Ministers and the party's central leaders would participate,” says former Union Minister and party veteran Pon Radhakrishnan.
Though all the allies of the BJP have been invited, AIADMK sources said party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami might skip the inaugural event since his rival and expelled leader O Panneerselvam has also been extended an invite. Interestingly, the DMDK of actor Vijayakant, which was not invited for the NDA meet in Delhi, had also been extended an invitation.
The enthusiasm of the BJP and its supporters about the yatra is not shared by the secular parties as well as analysts, who are skeptical about its outcome. “It is a fake yatra and will not yield any fruit,” says former IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil of the Congress, who coordinated the war room of the grand old party during the Karnataka assembly election in which Annamalai was the BJP's co-in charge of the saffron party's poll efforts. Interestingly, both are former Karnataka cadre officers.
“The very mention of yatras in Tamil Nadu will inevitably bring to mind Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) chief Vaiko, MP. But, he could not secure any significant political gains. The present yatra of Annamalai appears to project the BJP under his leadership more as a non-Brahmin party on the lines of a Dravidian party so as to become acceptable to the masses. This is the metamorphosis of the BJP with a Dravidian cloak. This explains the backing he receives from the central leadership,” reasons R Thirunavukkarasu, teaching sociology at the University of Hyderabad.
“Moreover, the BJP keeping the AIADMK on its side and raising the issue of corruption will be suspect in the eyes of the common people and puncture its claim to cleanse politics of corruption and provide good governance,” he added.
But, for many supporters of the BJP, Annamalai is the best option the party has got in Tamil Nadu. “He is no magician. True it is still a 3% party and it will be great if it grows to 10 percent.” And the response to the yatra will determine the BJP's capacity for bargaining the desired number of seats with its ally, the AIADMK in the LS poll.
Also read: Tamil Nadu BJP submits 'DMK Files-II' memorandum to Guv, seeks action on 'benami' links
