Battleground Tamil Nadu: Leaders and analysts discuss the Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi:

Can the BJP make inroads in Tamil Nadu this Lok Sabha elections? The BJP is hoping a shift from the ruling DMK and the AIADMK would happen and benefit the party.

“The BJP has a local face and then a national face. The youth vote will be critical,” Tamil Nadu BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy told NDTV during a discussion on the Lok Sabha elections.

However, the AIADMK is confident it will be able to rise again. AIADMK spokesperson Apsara Reddy said people in Tamil Nadu are more aware now, and it can be seen from how they are responding to manifestos.

“When it comes to Tamil Nadu, they recognise only the rising sun (DMK) and the two leaves (AIADMK). Somebody like K Annamalai (BJP leader) who is only a hashtag won’t create any impact,” Ms Reddy said.

Political strategist Amitabh Tiwari feels first-time voters in Tamil Nadu may vote for the BJP. “There is a big vote swing in Tamil Nadu. This is the vote the BJP is eyeing. It believes that first-time voters will help it win in Tamil Nadu,” Mr Tiwari told NDTV.

Another political analyst, Manisha Priyam, said Dravidian parties have been able to arm-twist the Centre in doing what they wanted to do. “Politics played here is very pragmatic. There was a time when DMK was against Congress, now it is with the Congress,” Ms Priyam said.

DMK spokesperson Manuraj Sundaram denied allegations of corruption and playing dynastic politics. “… Corruption allegations crop up every election season,” Mr Sundaram said.

Political strategist Amitabh Tiwari said the DMK alliance has more than five parties; AIADMK has four-five.

“And a lot of these are fighting on one or two seats. It is one of the best developed states and the OBC (Other Backward Classes) here is above 60 per cent. The BJP has cracked the OBC code in the rest of the country.”

The bottom line, Mr Thirupathy said, is that the entire country is growing. “Development came because of resources. We are concentrating on infrastructure and no revdi (freebies) culture. We have given an infrastructure budget for development of the entire country,” he said.