What Is Stopping BJP from Appointing President for Tamil Nadu Unit?

The Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been functioning without a chief for more than six months now. The party was supposed to appoint a replacement for Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan after her appointment as the Governor of Telangana in September 2019. However, the reported infighting and the need to balance the deep-rooted caste equations are allegedly delaying the announcement. The central leadership has been unable to pick a leader for the state unit so far, despite there being several contenders.

The saffron party was looking for a major revamp after the dismal performance in the general elections in 2019. As the delay prolonged beyond half a year, some aspirants have chosen to showcase their strength and stake claim for the post through rallies organised in favour of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

INFIGHTING RAMPANT?

There was a buzz in January when many reports emerged about the announcement of the new president for the unit. Two names were predominant in the first two weeks of January – D Kuppuram, former state president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and that of Nainar Nagendran, a former leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The former was the preferred choice of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), given his experience with the organisation.

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However, later, the former AIADMK leader emerged as the front runner and was almost cleared for appointment. Reportedly, the party cadres and his supporters in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts, from where he belongs and holds his business interests respectively, even had posters and hoardings congratulating the appointment ready. But the announcement has been withheld since then. BJP had allegedly preferred the former minister for his network within the AIADMK and the industry during his tenure in the Jayalalitha cabinet as a means to enhance its base. But, BJP has been maintaining a silence since then and even after almost two months, the state unit continues without a leader.

CASTE BALANCE UNDER CONSIDERATION

These two leaders, along with another aspirant Karuppu Muruganantham, the reported choice of former union minister P Radhakrishnan, belong to the Mukkulathor community ( which includes Kallar, Thervar and Agamudayar communities). The BJP may have preferred a leader from this community as it yields considerable influence in many of the districts of central and south Tamil Nadu. It seems that the decision may have been influenced by the BJP attempts to attract a particular community as their vote bank. Except the Nadar community in Kanyakumari,Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, BJP has not been able to extend its influence on any other community en masse. Incidentally, the two former chiefs, Tamilisai and Radhakrishnan, belong to this community.

The AIADMK has a strong vote base in the Mukkulathor community along with the Gounder community in the western district, which is Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s community. The deputy chief minister, O Panner Selvam, belongs to the Thevar community. With the AIADMK associating and dissociating with the BJP on different instances, the saffron party seems to have decided to tackle its alliance partner through striking a balance of community equations. So far, the BJP has been unable to extend its influence in the state through its usual modus operandi, which, according to political observers, may be the reason behind the dilemma facing the leadership in the selection of the state unit.

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Meanwhile, with the pro-CAA rallies, the leaders tried their best to showcase their strengths and stake claim for the vacant post. The former union minister P Radhakrishnan was highly tactical in seizing the opportunity. Even as BJP decided to hold pro-CAA rallies across the state on February 28, the former state unit chief held the rally in Kanyakumari, from where he lost the Lok Sabha, on March 1, Sunday. The former minister who was also the state unit president, managed to ensure the participation of the central observer P Muralidhar Rao in his home district. Reports had emerged that the former minister was asked to vacate his allotted room in the BJP headquarters leading the former minister to agitate.

The leader, who held the portfolio of highways and shipping in the first Narendra Modi regime, failed to secure a Rajya Sabha nomination last year. Other leaders including the controversial national secretary H Raja, K T Ragavan, K S Narendiran and a prominent women leader Vanathi Sreenivasan are also reportedly staking claim to the state BJP president’s post.

The delay in selecting a unit president has added to the chaos within the party in the state, which are further adding a roadblock to the BJP’s aspirations in the state. It should be noted that the BJP does not have any elected members to the Assembly or Parliament from the state.

With the Assembly elections due in another year, whether this delay would act as a deterrent in the consolidation of whatever base it has garnered in the state remains to be seen.

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