Modi’s Tamil Nadu push sparks war of words with DMK

Opening the BJP’s Assembly push in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the Prime Minister trained his guns on the DMK and the Congress, accusing them of perpetuating dynastic politics, presiding over corruption, and neglecting governance.

Soon after the news of the US and Israel attack on Iran was flashed across the media, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Chennai on February 28 evening for an election campaign event.

Modi convened a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security late on March 1, after completing election campaign events in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry—including a discussion with State leadership of the BJP on February 28 and official engagements in Puducherry and Madurai on March 1.

Modi addressed public meetings in both Madurai and Puducherry. Puducherry is a Union Territory which is controlled by the BJP though N. Rangasamy who founded the All India NR Congress is the Chief Minister. Given the lack of autonomy for the Union Territory, all decisions have to be routed via the Lieutenant Governor. The current L-G is Kailashnathan, a former Gujarat cadre civil servant, who served as Modi’s confidant for many years when Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister. He was later Secretary to successive Chief Ministers in Gujarat, after Modi became the Prime Minister.

Puducherry is of special interest to the BJP as the Union government has the power to nominate three members to the Union Territory’s Legislative Assembly, who—according to several court rulings—enjoy the privileges of regular, elected members, unlike in Parliament’s Rajya Sabha where nominated members cannot vote to elect a President.

At the public meetings, both in Puducherry and Madurai, Modi trained his guns on the ruling DMK and the Congress in Tamil Nadu, targetting the former over alleged corruption and the latter over alleged disrespect of Tamil culture. Attacking the “scam ridden” DMK government, Modi said, “The DMK Ministers are competing in scams...Such a corrupt government has no moral right to continue.” In Madurai, he pointed out that the DMK Mayor had been sacked on corruption charges. “The DMK men were making money for themselves, and neglected the problems of the people,” he charged.

Speaking in English and ridiculing the Congress, Modi said the Congress did not respect the traditions of Tamil Nadu and had hence banned Jallikattu when it was in power at the Centre. Later, in a post on social media platform X, he wrote: “The enthusiasm at the NDA rally in Madurai indicated the people’s frustration against the DMK and the party’s dismal governance. I’m confident the NDA will form the government in Tamil Nadu.”

The Prime Minister also inaugurated development projects worth over Rs.4,400 crore, emphasising that the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) “Viksit Bharat” vision as the only path to a “developed Tamil Nadu”. Dwelling on this, the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Edappadi K.Palaniswami, who is the general secretary of the BJP ally All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) said that whenever the Prime Minister visited the State, he allotted thousands of crores of rupees for development works but the DMK did not make use of the funds. “Can the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, list what development the DMK brought to the State when it had [a share in] power at the Centre,” Palaniswami asked, referring to the period from 2004 to 2014. “What benefits did the people of the State receive?” he further questioned.

The Madurai meeting was the first full-fledged campaign event of the NDA ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly election, whose dates have not yet been announced. Leaders of political parties that are a part of the NDA—the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Tamil Maanila Congress, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, and a few single-personality political parties—were also present. Following a brief interaction between Modi and Palaniswami, the AIADMK leader left for New Delhi on March 2, for likely seat-sharing discussions.

Stalin and the DMK pushback On the morning of March 2, Chief Minister Stalin hit back at the BJP. He mocked the “double-engine” government claim of the BJP and said that in several States where the party was in power, it was just “dappa engine governments” [faulty engine governments] and not double-engine governments.

Answering a question at an interaction organised by The Week magazine in Chennai, Stalin said that many political parties had expressed interest in joining the DMK-led front ahead of the election. “This is an alliance formed on the basis of ideology,” he said. While there are strains between the Congress and the DMK on seat sharing, Stalin did not touch upon them. Congress leaders have said that there is no movement in the talks. Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have so far not spoken to each other about it either.

Mocking the BJP’s bid to capture power in Tamil Nadu, Stalin said, “That has become a mirage.” Pointing out the alleged mismatch in ambitions between the BJP and its ally the AIADMK, Stalin said that, earlier, Modi was talking about establishing BJP rule in Tamil Nadu, whereas he had given the AIADMK general secretary a seat on the stage and had stated that NDA would form the next government in Tamil Nadu. “How then could Palaniswami claim that the AIADMK alone would form the government in the State?” he asked.

Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold another rally in Tamil Nadu before the date of the election is announced, as is Rahul Gandhi. The battle for the Tamil Nadu Assembly has begun.

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