The headline might have an Enid Blyton note to it. But BJP's Mission South is as real and serious as it gets. The whirlwind tours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu and Kerala well ahead of the Lok Sabha polls reveals the determination of a party that has no match when it comes to realpolitik.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in an interview to an English language daily on Friday admitted that his party is not very strong in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but hastened to add that the BJP wants to expand its presence in the southern states. Gadkari exuded confidence that the BJP-led alliance will get a good number of seats in Tamil Nadu.
How much is that good number?
A maximum of five, say some BJP functionaries in the state.
During a chat with The New Indian Express recently, a party worker D Illayaraja said that expectations are high for the party in five parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu. They are Coimbatore, Kanniyakumari, Nilgiris, Chennai South and Tirunelveli.
The same sentiment was echoed by BJP north Chennai district president M Krishnakumar.
The Famous Five
Essentially, the BJP is banking on their famous five.
The Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai is contesting from Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency.
Veteran Pon Radhakrishnan is the candidate for Kanniyakumari.
Union minister L Murugan is contesting from Nilgiris (SC) constituency.
Ex-governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is trying her luck from Chennai South and Nainar Nagendran from Tirunelveli.
These are the five seats the party is hoping to win though it might prove too big an ask in a state where the DMK is probably at its strongest at the current moment.
Here then is a quick look at the five constituencies.
Tirunelveli
The yesteryear AIADMK man turned incumbent BJP MLA of Tirunelveli, Nainar Nagendran is one of the strongest candidates that the saffron party has fielded in Tamil Nadu.
The fortunes of Nagendran's INDIA bloc rival Robert Bruce of the Congress are tied to ally DMK giving him their all and helping him string together the Hindu Nadar and Thevar votes. The DMK has deployed Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan to work for Bruce. But the DMK workers are reportedly not showing much enthusiasm in the constituency.
As for the AIADMK, they have fielded Jansi Rani in Tirunelveli.
Robert Bruce reportedly had to wait for three hours near the Cheranmahadevi bus stand on the evening of Thursday, April 4, 2024 since the DMK leader who was supposed to get permission for his campaign failed to do so, sources said.
Does Nainar Nagendran have an edge? At this stage, the answer is a doubtful yes.
Coimbatore
The flamboyant state president of the BJP K Annamalai is trying his luck from Coimbatore this time around. The 39-year-old former IPS officer said in an interview to a national daily that Dravidian politics is nearing its end and the ruling DMK will be part of history after the 2026 assembly polls. Talk of far-fetched claims.
Five assembly segments in the Coimbatore parliamentary constituency, namely Palladam, Sulur, Kavundampalayam, Coimbatore North and Singanallur are currently with the AIADMK while Coimbatore South has a BJP legislator in Vanathi Srinivasan.
CP Radhakrishnan, currently Governor of Jharkhand, has won from Coimbatore in the 1998 and 1999 general elections.
Former mayor Ganapathi P Rajkumar is the DMK candidate here. The AIADMK has fielded Singai G Ramachandran. Coimbatore constituency can prove tricky. Annamalai will be hoping to spring a surprise.
Nilgiris
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan is the BJP candidate for Nilgiris (reserved) constituency. He is pitted against incumbent and veteran A Raja of the DMK and Lokesh Tamilselvan of the AIADMK. Raja is contesting from Nilgiris for the fourth time.
The assembly segments of Bhavanisagar (SC), Gudalur (SC), Mettupalayam and Avinashi (SC) are currently with the AIADMK. Udhagamandalam is with the Indian National Congress, an ally of the DMK, while Coonoor is with the DMK. Raja had won from this constituency in 2019, 2014 and 2009
H Mohanraj, BJP district president, told The New Indian Express that Badagas account for 40 percent of the population in Nilgiris district. They are mostly believers. They are averse to the “anti-Hindu” politics of Raja. Moreover, Raja has not addressed the basic issues of the people despite being an MP for three terms.
Further, in Gudalur, around 7,000 familes living on the fringes of forest area have no electricity supply. “We’ve promised that even while adhering to forest act, efforts will be take to ensure electiricty supply to them.”
Raja appears to be sitting pretty in Nilgiris.
Kanniyakumari
In Kanniyakumari, BJP veteran Pon Radhakrishnan is pitted against Vijay Vasanth of the Congress and Basilion Nazareth of the AIADMK.
In the 2021 by-election, Vijay Vasanth defeated Pon Radhakrishnan by securing 576,037 votes as against the latter's 438,087 votes.
In the 2019 general election, Vijay Vasanth's father, late H Vasanthakumar had defeated Pon Radhakrishnan. Vasanthakumar polled 627,235 votes as against Radhakrishnan's 367,302 votes. History then favours Vijay Vasanth in Kanniyakumari.
Chennai South
In Chennai South, Tamilisai Soundararajan is pitted against the sitting MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian of the DMK. J Jayavardhan is the AIADMK candidate here.
The assembly segments of Virugambakkam, Saidapet, Thiyagarayanagar, Mylapore and Sholinganallur have DMK legislators while Velachery is with DMK ally Congress.
Simply put, it will tough for Tamilisai in Chennai South, originally a DMK bastion.
