1 day Ago By Tulasi
A change of guard at Kamalalayam, the State headquarters of the BJP in Chennai, should be seen as a tectonic shift in the working of the party but what was unfolding last week at various venues involving different dramatis personae was just a play out in the realm of speculation. Even with no one confirming if the present chief K Annamalai, whose entry into Kamalalayam in 2021 was marked by his move to usher in a ‘transparency’ by changing the wooden doors of his cabin with glass panels, was going to be shifted out or kicked upstairs or whatever the ‘change’ became the talk of the town. Media, particularly YouTube channels, was abuzz with the speculation as to who might replace him.
Of course three or more names were bandied about with conjectures, backed by one absurd reason or the other, even when everyone knew that the final call would be taken far away in New Delhi or, as some say, Nagpur. So, one name that was suggested as a possible replacement for Annamalai was the party leader in the State Assembly Nainar Nagendran. The rumours were so strong that Nagendran, who normally maintains a low profile, was seen giving his best political performance in the Assembly and its precincts by expressing views on issues.
Though the State BJP did not have a shortage of talent – men and women who are eloquent, informed and dedicated to the party’s avowed ideology and practice – the names churned out by the rumour mills were limited. Two former State BJP chiefs L Murugan and Tamilisai Soundararajan were among them. When enquired with those coming up with the possible alternatives about the reason for such choices, they mentioned a rather shocking reason.
‘Caste,’ they said, suggesting that people vote for the BJP if it appointed a person from their own community or caste, to be precise, as the State president. If they had a point, would it not lead to members of other castes not voting for the party if it was led by someone from another caste? And did it work that way so far with people from the castes the State Presidents hailed from voting en masse for the party? Of course it did not happen that way as the election results reveal. Still, why is the obsession over caste, which is also repeatedly cited by the burgeoning band of self-styled political analysts who convey their erudite opinions to the public through television and YouTube channels on a regular basis? It is just because politics today operates more in the realms of speculation and imagination.
Opinions are formed on the basis of perceptions, shaping the political decisions of the people. It has become all the more easy to disseminate opinions in this era of social media, even if the opinions sound terribly incredulous because truth does not matter or is cared about in the scheme of things. Whether such rumours and unsubstantiated information are circulated due to a deliberate design or the sheer ignorance of the spreaders, they make a lasting impact on those who receive those details.
So we see many myths, in the field of politics, getting perpetuated in the conscience of the people. Making use of that political matrix, modern day media operates by thriving on speculations, many of which may even come true. So people have been made to believe that the BJP high command wants to revive its ties with the AIADMK – of course there were very definite indications to prove that like general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami silently rushing to New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah – and the AIADMK in turn wanting the BJP State leadership to be changed.
Even if those speculations were true how will the AIADMK-BJP alliance, which is nothing but a case of the old wine in old bottle, win the elections or, to put it in appropriate political lingo, defeat the DMK with a new leader at the helm of BJP affairs in the State. After all it was Annamalai who with his gibberish became popular among the youth because he was once an IPS officer and none of the potential replacements is as inspiring as him. Whatever, the BJP high command, it looks, expects a magic in the polls by forcing the AIADMK kowtow to its plans, the same way in which the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam, the nascent party of Vijay, expects to romp home in the elections in 2026.
One reason for such high expectations is also because speculations are made on the basis of poll arithmetic. By adding up the votes polled by the BJP and AIADMK individually, many derive a winning formula. But they do not take into account the votes that would not come to the BJP or its alliance if it were to join hands with a ‘Dravidian Party’ that is anathema to them.
Similarly AIADMK, too, will lose votes if it were to align with the BJP. TVK supporters can count the film tickets Vijay can sell and reckon them to be the party’s votes but it does not work that way as many see a film as a film. Also many may believe that the TVK is on a gravy train as it is attracting young people in droves.
But when it comes to casting the vote, things could turn topsy-turvy, throwing speculations to the dustbin..
