By Arun LakshmanChennai, April 1 : Political parties in Tamil Nadu have plunged into preparation mode for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with the ruling DMK appointing 234 party leaders as observers in all the Assembly constituencies of the state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K.Stalin has called upon the party cadres to get all the 39 seats in the state and the lone seat in Puducherry thus winning all the 40 seats in the offing from TN and Union territory of Puducherry.
With Congress’s E.V.K.S.Elangovan winning the Erode East bypoll by a margin of 66,087 votes, the confidence of the DMK front has increased manifold.Another plus point the party think tanks are finding is the excellent administration carried out by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin ever since he assumed the office in May 2021.
The people-friendly and socially responsible programmes, including Makkale Thedi Maruvan (health at doorsteps) and free breakfast project for primary school children, have touched a chord with the people of the state.Free bus travel for women is another major hit for the party as several lower and middle class women are benefitted by the scheme.
Chief Minister Stalin has now commenced connecting to people and listening to their woes thus becoming more popular among the local people of the state which is the voting population.
Spat between the AIADMK and BJP over the arrogance of BJP state president K.Annamalai has led to a major setback for the alliance leading to another advantage for the DMK front.
Annamalai has, according to party insiders, said that he would resign if an alliance with the AIADMK is continued by the national leadership of the BJP.
However, the National leadership of the BJP is keen that the alliance with the AIADMK will continue in Tamil Nadu as without the support of a Dravidian major, no national party will be able to win the elections in the state.
For example, the leaders pointed out that the alliance the Congress was having with the DMK and how it has developed into a win-win situation for both the parties in the state.
Several utterances in public space made by the BJP state president have led to the AIADMK leaders retorting to his tirades and bringing up a common perception that the AIADMK-BJP alliance was in totters.
The BJP national leadership immediately called up AIADMK senior leaders, including party general secretary Edappadi K .Palaniswami (EPS) and informed him that the BJP was very much in alliance with it.This led to an open statement by EPS on Thursday that the alliance between the BJP and AIADMK was intact in the state.
Meanwhile, as a second option, AIADMK leadership has already commenced discussions with the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) of actor-turned-politician Seeman, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a Dalit political party presently aligned in DMK front and the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam(DMDK) of actor, politician Vijayakanth.
While NTK is a fierce Tamil nationalistic party, VCK is a Dalit party and DMDK has a presence in almost all the constituencies of the state.
These meetings of the AIADMK top brass with the leaders of small political parties is a shrewd move not to be left behind if the BJP decides to snap ties.A senior leader of the AIADMK while speaking to IANS said, “In fact as far as AIADMK is concerned, it is better for us to leave the alliance with the BJP as the entire minority community is against us now.If the ties with the BJP are snapped as wished by that party’s state president, things are much easier for us, and will win more seats than in an alliance with the BJP.”
He, however, said that with the party supremo EPS confirming the alliance with the BJP for the time being, there were no questions of thinking about a new political alliance.
In Tamil Nadu, the main fight is between the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) led by the DMK and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP.With the general elections a do-or-die battle for both fronts, the alliances have already begun preparations to win the polls.
M.R.Sundaraswamy, Director, of Socio-Economic Development Foundation, a think tank based out of Madurai while speaking to IANS pointed out, “The DMK is far ahead of other political parties in Tamil Nadu as of now.Political perception can, however, change in no time and there will be undercurrents.But as of now it is DMK all the way and if AIADMK breaks its alliance with the BJP, it will get a few seats, but a BJP, AIADMK combine is not going to gain in Tamil Nadu.DMK is presently riding high due to a divided opposition as well as for the performance of the Stalin government which has done extremely well for the people of the state in all aspects.”
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