𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗨 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 - 𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦?

Tamilnadu elections next year is not another national vs regional fight, it's not another right wing vs left wing fight, it's not another incumbent vs challenger fight. In many ways, it's a clash of two bigwigs, two right wings - the Tamil right wing and the Hindu right wing, both wings that claim to be nationalists in their own way. 

The Tamil nationalist right wing is not a pushover by any means, they have numbers to back them. Last year, they have delivered the highest economic growth among all states, let alone large states - 11.2%. And Tamilnadu story is never just about the economy. Compare the 1960 and 2025 poverty levels across Indian states - from being one of the poorest to one of the richest, Tamilnadu has silently topped all Indian charts.

 

 

𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗨'𝗦 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦

 

For ease of understanding, let's take Tamilnadu and compare its numbers with the national average and against Gujarat, the state that has in many ways propelled the current Hindu nationalist right wing through the Gujarat story. Make no mistake, Gujarat has had a phenomenal growth story in the last two decades as well, thanks largely to Modi, the CM.

 

Economy - GDP per capita: India - $2677, Gujarat - $4306, TN - $4323

Education - Enrollment in higher education: India - 32.5%, Gujarat - 26.8%, TN - 47%

Healthcare - Doctor to patient ratio: India - 1:811, Gujarat - 1:850, TN - 1:495

Poverty: India - 11.3%, Gujarat - 9%, TN - 1.4%

Agriculture - Farmer's monthly income: India - 10218, Gujarat - 12631, TN - 11924

Lower caste % / Poor 40%: India - 75% / 40%, GJ 73.3% / 25.2%, TN - 97.2% / 19.9%

Female Workforce / In manufacturing: India - 40.3% / 20%, GJ - 45.6% / 6%, TN - 41.5% / 42%

Some of the numbers above can be debated about, but the direction will not be misplaced.

 

 

  

 

 

 

𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚?

 

The other side may not have too many equivalent state stories, but Gujarat (under Modi), Maharashtra (under Fadavis), UP (under Yogi) and to some extent MP (under Chouhan) are some of the recent success stories. But it's the story of Modi the PM that will be used, once more. A strong leader image with a strong nation story. The country's economy, though driven by the top 20% is not doing bad. GST, after a lot of hiccups has streamlined tax collection. Inflation seems to be under control after losing stability a couple of years back. Government digitization has eased a lot of transactions. Direct Benefit Transfers have fixed a lot of leaks. Manufacturing and Defence are moving towards self-reliance.

But then it's not all green either!

 

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗬, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗬𝗣𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗗 - 𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗦

 

BJP and DMK would like to position themselves as two different sides, but in many ways they can be argued to be different sides of the same coin. DMK's Tamil identity politics is well-known, but so is their anti-Brahmin stand. Similarly, BJP's Hindu identity politics is well known, but so is their anti-Muslim stand. Both parties would deny that in an argument, but history would say otherwise. They have both successfully united the other side against a common enemy, partly through facts, partly through exaggerated fears.

 

When DMK tries to justify why it wishes for Christmas and Ramzan but not for Diwali and Navratri, it ekes of hypocrisy. Opposing Hindi even as an optional language in schools is again very difficult to justify. But then when the BJP tries to bring up discussions around Hindu Rashtra, it becomes equally hypocritical as well, after campaigning for "Sabka saath".

 

𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗨𝗣𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘

 

Corruption, sure is an issue with the DMK. From the 2G scam to the TASMAC scam to the Jobs scam, the DMK has successfully lived up to expectations. But given the who's who of corruption now is either with the BJP or is allied with the BJP and are magically absolved of all their sins, the BJP's hands are not clean either. Rafale is investigated in France, but not in India. Adani is investigated in Australia, but not in India. The list of private enterprises given Government clearance post electoral bond donation - from Tata to Murugappa to Future Gaming to Megha Engineering - is endless. The eerie silence around the 7.5 lakh crores corruption report by the CAG is very peculiar. Then there is the lack of transparency around public funds like PM-CARES. Contrast this against the acquittal of the DMK in the 2G scam by SC, the same institution that also acquitted Modi in Gujarat riots, we may not be talking about unequals here, at least on paper.

 

𝗔𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥

 

Yes, the DMK has media and agencies in its control in TN, for several decades now. But so is the BJP at the centre right now. Every single institution from the election commission, ED, IT, CBI, media - seems to be hijacked by the BJP. When laws are seemingly made against SEBI guidelines and NITI Aayog recommendations to benefit known parties, it becomes difficult to support. Governors somehow seem to be having problems only in opposition ruled states that the SC had to intervene multiple times. Scams like the Pegasus snooping row may be magnitude apart, but for every Kappan and Swamy arrested by the BJP, there is a Savukku Shankar and Mari arrested in Tamilnadu. Does the media do its job or is allowed to do its job? Well, they dare not. Tamil media will do namesake questioning of the DMK for 5/365 days in a year, and national media will do the same about the BJP.

 

𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦? 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗦? 𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗜𝗥, 𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗜𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗧𝗛 𝗕𝗔𝗚𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟

 

From Govt jobs promise to the no price hike promise to healthcare promise to irrigation project promise, the DMK has faltered. From $5T economy promise to the 2 cr annual employment promise to the black money promise to the dollar promise to the petrol price promise, the BJP has also faltered. 

 

Family politics? Absolutely! DMK has converted politics into family business, much like how the Congress has, but then BJP is no alien to nepotism. BJP has sent record number of nepotistic MPs to the Parliament. The meteoric rise of BJP's family companies, much like the Congress and DMK family companies is no news any more.

 

𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗡𝗔𝗗𝗨 𝗗𝗢?

 

All the controversies aside, given the BJP cannot show any state where it has performed better than the DMK/ADMK regime in Tamilnadu, why should the people of TN vote for the BJP? When Kejriwal ran for Delhi, BJP used to ask, "Who other than Kejriwal?" BJP has the same issue in Tamilnadu, "Who other than Annamalai?" There used to be social media discussions around how BJP and Modi are like a lone lion fighting against a pack of wolves at the national level. In Tamilnadu, it's pretty much the same now, with turned tables. DMK and Stalin will take a lone lion fight against ADMK, BJP, TVK, PMK, NTK, etc. And if we were to go by those Chanakya memes, TN should vote for DMK right now. But if they want status quo to be challenged without knowing whether it will benefit them or not, then they should vote for the BJP and NDA.

 

Either way, it's good to see a healthy competition in TN outside of the Dravidian parties. And I hope we can get to see the same healthy competition at the centre also at some point soon.