Editorial with Sujit Nair | Is BJP Helping MK Stalin’s DMK Win In Tamil Nadu? | AIADMK | Annamalai

[00:00:00] Namaskar Welcome to another episode of Editorial Like the headline says I think the Bharatiya Janata Party is helping MK Stalin to come back to power in Tamil Nadu Not that MK Stalin needs much help but the fact is

[00:00:24] The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to do its best to ensure MK Stalin comes back to power This is what I think Let's discuss this further. Let's get right into the show So before we talk about how BJP is helping DMK, let us talk about DMK Let us talk about MK Stalin

[00:00:49] Now MK Stalin let me tell you possibly has been one of the most popular chief ministers in India Especially the chief minister that belonged to the opposition party and remained with the opposition party Had always had his conflict with the center But he created a fantastic brand image for himself across the country Fantastic brand image

[00:01:19] More importantly, he became well known and popular Across India from Kashmir to Kandiyakumari So that's something that Stalin did A lot of regional parties and their chief ministers Should actually look at the way Stalin built his brand They may find they may get a lot of tips

[00:01:45] So that's the first thing Stalin built his brand exceedingly well The second thing is What Stalin did is he managed to ensure that there is no much of anti-incumbency that gets gets stuck to him He doesn't have much of anti-incumbency And anti-incumbency is something that is very very natural in Tamil Nadu

[00:02:15] What I mean by that is See normally one saw Tamil Nadu going ping pong So you had DMK for five years, then DMK went AIDMK came in I am talking about times when AIDMK was headed by Ms. Jail Alita and DMK was headed by Karna Nidhi So you had Karna Nidhi for five years, then Jail Alita for five years, then Karna Nidhi for five years, and Jail Alita for five years So you had this anti-incumbency

[00:02:41] That actually ensured that the government would change possibly every five years, most of the time So this was what Tamil Nadu was and this time around, it seems that there is no much of anti-incumbency While there has been talk of state finances, there have been talk of women's safety, there has been talk of bad handling of natural disaster and all that All that has been has been spoken about The opposition has raised all these points, but the point is

[00:03:10] The opposition was not fit enough, not good enough, not powerful enough to ensure that it stuck to the voters mind So this time around, the anti-incumbency is not the way normally it would have been in Tamil Nadu So that's point number one Now why do I say that Bharatiya Janata Party is helping?

[00:03:38] You see, I made two statements. I made The first statement I made is M.K. Stalin now is popular from Kashmir to Kanyakumari And the reason why he is possibly popular is because M.K. Stalin is seen today fighting for Tamil against the central government So the Hindi imposition row that happened in the recent past has really catapult

[00:04:09] Stalin into a different league, especially in Tamil Nadu I come from the south So I talk to you with certain understanding of what's happening in Tamil Nadu and what people are talking about in Tamil Nadu And the way a Tamilian currently is feeling M.K. Stalin has been catapulted Because he has been seen as a person who is standing for Tamil, who is protecting Tamil

[00:04:38] Over and above that, here came delimitation row Now delimitation, there is nothing much that center could do That too I agree But the fact remains that this is something that Stalin actually blew It out of proportion It was it was blown And it was presented in a 70mm Stalin today is not just seen as somebody who is protecting the rights of Tamil and Tamil Nadu

[00:05:07] But Stalin is seen as a champion of the south His structure, his leadership has got alleviated He is today seen as somebody who is protecting us protecting south of India Today when you go to Kerala, you go to Kerala especially Because that's where I was recently And a lot of people say that look at Stalin Look at Stalin the way he is talking for the south Sadly our leaders don't do that Stalin is doing it

[00:05:38] The popularity I saw in Kerala for Stalin stunned me Stunned me because All of a sudden I realized that Stalin was becoming a south Indian leader So that's something that happened and this is something that was not created by Stalin This is something that got created in the center And this creation of the center

[00:06:07] In short that Stalin all the other anti-incumbency women rights and Finance mismanagement and finance management and all of that All that became irrelevant The Hindi imposition issue and the delimitation issue became the in thing Today Tamil Nadu is talking about that And that's precisely why Stalin is in its all-time high

[00:06:37] He is in his all-time high when it comes to popularity The fact remains that Bharatiya Janata Party has faced something similar in Maharashtra in 2024 Lok Sabha elections When the statement of the constitution going to be changed If Bharatiya Janata Party comes into power That issue was manifested, blown up in Maharashtra

[00:07:03] And possibly that issue really resulted to the kind of seats That Bharatiya Janata Party saw in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 In Maharashtra especially Bharatiya Janata Party may change the constitution if they come back to power Was the guiding factor for their absolute disaster in Maharashtra in 2024 Now this something like this is happening

[00:07:31] Something very similar to this actually is happening in south Is happening in Tamil Nadu This time around, delimitation There will be no power for south And there will be no say for south rather Rather than power There will be no say for south in the Indian parliament And the fact that imposition of Indi These two factors are overriding everything And the champion is Stalin

[00:08:02] Now the centre knows this Bharatiya Janata Party knows this But Bharatiya Janata Party did not and is not doing anything specific to tackle this issue And this issue is getting bigger and bigger and bigger Now another thing that Bharatiya Janata Party did Amishya went and met Palani Swami

[00:08:29] Now Palani Swami is from AIDMK Meeting Palani Swami is that going to make much of a difference Bharatiya Janata Party Tying up with AIDMK will that make a difference In the political scenario in Tamil Nadu Is AIDMK even relevant enough in Tamil Nadu

[00:08:58] Will they do better? First of all, let's start talking about that Are they going to do good in the forthcoming election? That's the first question that I think Amishya should think And the second question is Amishya has this very, I would say, enthusiastic leader in Annamalai Annamalai is the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, president of Tamil Nadu

[00:09:24] He is enthusiastic, he couldn't do much in the Lok Sabha election, I agree, but he is an enthusiastic person, he has increased the vote share of Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu Created a niche for Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu And I don't think Annamalai is very happy with Bharatiya Janata Party going and trying to tie up with AIDMK

[00:09:51] Because AIDMK is all India It is not different It is a Dravid party too, which is ideologically Absolutely opposite to what Bharatiya Janata Party is Technically speaking, from an ideological perspective Not that ideology matters nowadays in politics, but technically it is diagonally the opposite

[00:10:15] Annamalai has been trying to build the Bharatiya Janata Party ideology, the Hindutva ideology In Tamil Nadu He is carving his niche and he feels that he is doing a good job To some extent, one should give him that credit because whatever said and done, he has created a vote bank for Bharatiya Janata Party Now that vote bank may not be enough for them to win seats

[00:10:44] That vote bank may definitely not enough for them to win the state That is for sure, but the fact remains that he has created He started the process In between that and AIA DMK is being introduced Now this is something similar that happened in Maharashtra Amit Shah's interference in Maharashtra politics A lot of leaders say caused a lot of Rift

[00:11:11] Devendra Fatnavis who was who was completely focused on Maharashtra trying to pull Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra trying to make something out of Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and all of that In middle when the center especially Amit Shah intervened Things actually didn't help him it was harming him To an extent where he almost ensured that there was no much of Amit Shah seen in 2024 assembly election of Maharashtra He ensured that

[00:11:41] And the rest is history So Amit Shah's interference In Tamil Nadu is that helping Tamil Nadu or harming Tamil Nadu? Amit Shah's understanding of Tamil Nadu and its voters or lack of it Is that going to help Bharatiya Janata Party or is that going to help M.K.Stalin?

[00:12:07] Bharatiya Janata Party and AIA DMK coming together Will it have an impact on both the parties? You see things are different now One could argue that it is different now It is different after the delimitation, after the Hindi imposition and all Things are very different in Tamil Nadu A lot of people who otherwise would have voted for AIA DMK

[00:12:37] Would possibly not because Bharatiya Janata Party is with them Because now they would see AIA DMK A party that is not supporting Tamil language A party that is not supporting South Indian voice in Indian parliament A party that is not going against the delimitation or Or ensuring that the South Indian states get enough seats after delimitation

[00:13:06] That is the way people may see And AIA DMK voter may not vote for AIA DMK And the reverse The reverse may happen is because like I told you Annamalai has carved A vote bank for Bharatiya Janata Party Which believes in Bharatiya Janata Party ideology Which believes in Hindutva and that particular group May not be so comfortable voting for AIA DMK

[00:13:36] Because end of the day like I told you It is all India Anna Dravidya Munnetra Kadakam It is a Dravidian party It is as Dravidian as what DMK is And that is what Bharatiya Janata Party ideology is trying to combat So the point that I am trying to make is This entire decision of Bharatiya Janata Party And possibly AIA DMK coming together I think it is a disaster

[00:14:07] Bharatiya Janata Party may definitely not win the state Obviously not But may do better on its own in Tamil Nadu At least it can start creating its own niche And as far as Stalin is concerned Stalin I think currently looks very very strong in Tamil Nadu No much anti-incumbency And this huge agenda of delimitation and Hindi imposition Actually working for him

[00:14:35] So this is the point I wanted to make today Till I see you next time Day after tomorrow at 10 Namaskar