With Bihar secured, BJP sets sights on Tamil Nadu
"If Amma was here she would have been really happy and would have showered us with her blessings. Wherever Amma might be her blessing will always be with the people of Tamil Nadu," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam memorial's inauguration in Rameshwaram.
After the demise of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, this is the first time that Modi has spoken about the deceased leader in a public meeting and he has already visited Tamil Nadu thrice in the last eight months.
What does this mean? This is not the first time that Modi has said some kind words about Jaya. He had visited her at her Poes Garden residence as a courtesy call when she was at the helm of affairs in the state, but from September 2016 till December 2016, he spoke little about the situation in the state, which has been going through a political turmoil.
After the demise of Amma, the state has seen a lot of downs, and the political infighting within the AIADMK has given ample opportunities to other parties to spread their agenda.
The DMK, which is the opposition party in the state, won back a lot of its vote share in the 2016 state election, and in the last few months MK Stalin, who is the acting president of the DMK, has been able to garner a lot of public support. The AIADMK in the state elections had managed to get 54.6 per cent of the vote share and the DMK was close behind with 37.8 per cent vote share.
With the political turmoil that is going on in the state, the present AIADMK, which is split into two factions, is certainly not ready for a re-election and that is evident in the way they are functioning now, looking keenly at the Centre for support. The BJP, which has only a 2.5 per cent vote share in the state, has been reportedly able to increase its foothold.
BJP spokespersons have repeatedly said, "The youth of the country have been drawn towards Modiji for all the good schemes he has been implementing in the country. They know it is time for change." In fact, Coimbatore was the host for an RSS meet very recently, proving that the saffron party is seriously trying to build its stand in the state.
Though the BJP has been trying hard, the lack of a prominent face is a serious crisis that the party is staring at. There is the alleged rumour that Rajinikanth will enter politics and RSS ideologue Swaminathan Gurumurthy's had earlier said in a television interview to India Today: "I am Rajinikanth's friend. But I can say this much that Rajinikanth will definitely enter politics. This is the best time for him. But he is waiting for the right moment. He will float his own party but his natural allegiance will be with BJP."
The BJP has been moving its cards slowly but steadily. The Dravidian parties, which have had a long hold in Tamil Nadu, will certainly not let go of their advantage. But with the AIADMK, the third largest party in Parliament, not able to function efficiently in the absence of Amma - who kept her cards close to her chest - the central government has been getting actively involved in the affairs of the state.
Jaya undoubtedly had an iron grip on state affairs and Modi's lunch visit to her in 2015 soon after he became PM showed Amma's sway and the present situation in the state is reflective of the void her death caused in "Amma Nadu" and for the AIADMK. Will Modi be able to fill that void and create another saffron wave? Well, the answer is only a matter of time.