CHENNAI: Even as the BJP’s state unit and AIADMK play the ‘Tamil’ card in a bid to pressure the DMK into extending its support for the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate C P Radhakrishnan, DMK leaders said the party has no intention of backing him since ideology is “above all else”.
“We will give preference only to ideology. We cannot support Radhakrishnan merely on the grounds that he is Tamil. We have to look at what his ideologies are,” DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan told TNIE.
“BJP has not done anything for Tamil or Tamil Nadu. The BJP-led union government has not approved Keezhadi excavation reports, has not released funds due to the state, and also is averse to the development of TN,” he added.
Elangovan also recalled DMK’s campaigns against Radhakrishnan during the Lok Sabha elections.
“Moreover, we all know how the BJP government treated the former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar. We do not even know his whereabouts now,” he said.
Meanwhile, names of DMK’s five-term Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva and former ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai have been doing the rounds as the INDIA bloc’s choice for V-P candidate.
Radhakrishnan has done little for Tamil cause: CPM
Asked about the possibility of another ‘Tamil’ candidate being put forward from their side, Elangovan said, “INDIA bloc leaders will decide on that together.”
A similar situation of attempting to back the DMK into a corner using the ‘Tamilian’ argument occurred in 1987 when R Venkataraman was the presidential candidate. At the time, responding to a query from reporters on ‘some parties’ in Tamil Nadu not supporting a Tamilian candidate, AIADMK leader and then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran said, “Not supporting a Tamilian is their stand.” Reacting to this, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had said, “It is important to note what he has done for the Tamil people, rather than whether he is a Tamilian.”
Leaders of opposition parties in TN also opposed the NDA’s decision to field the BJP’s Radhakrishnan as its V-P candidate, contending that his nomination was rooted in his RSS background rather than in his Tamil identity.
TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai alleged that the BJP and the union government had consistently “betrayed” TN, citing denial of adequate funds for education and disaster relief, and a reluctance to accept the Keezhadi findings. “Now, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, they are projecting Radhakrishnan as a Tamil to reap political dividends. He is not a representative of Tamils; he is only a staunch BJP and RSS cadre,” he told TNIE.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam told TNIE that Radhakrishnan has done little for the Tamil cause despite having held several constitutional posts in the past. “When Droupadi Murmu was projected as a Tribal candidate during the presidential polls, her identity was highlighted, but she remained silent during the Manipur crisis as the Constitution does not allow the President or Vice-President to act independently. Radhakrishnan too will only reflect the RSS ideology in his tenure. Hence, there is no question of supporting him,” he said.
VCK general secretary D Ravikumar echoed the criticism, arguing that if the NDA genuinely wanted to promote an ‘Indian identity,’ they could have named a Christian or Muslim candidate. “Had they sought a unanimous election, they should have consulted the opposition and proposed a common nominee. Instead, they are lobbying for an RSS cadre in the name of Tamil identity. This is unfair. If the INDIA bloc were to nominate a candidate from Gujarat, will Modi and Amit Shah extend their support?” he asked.
EPS urges parties to back Radhakrishnan
CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary EPS and state BJP president Nainar Nagenthran urged all parties to extend support to CP Radhakrishnan, stating his candidature is a matter of pride for TN.