Tamil Nadu gets ready for the big debate ahead of May 16 mandate

With J Jayalalithaa, MK Stalin, Vaiko, Vijayakanth, Anbumani Ramadoss and Seeman already in the thick of electoral battle, DMK’s grand old man M Karunanidhi is set to hit the road from April 23. In BJP’s campaign big tickets from Delhi like Amit Shah and Prakash Javadekar have already visited the state to pep up the battle. Though prohibition is going to be the single most oft- repeated word, the once-in-five-year grand event is all set to be a memorable one for the sole reason that it will be a six-cornered contest and a plethora of issues will come for public debate. 

Some of the issues that will be subject of some hard talk by the rivals against incumbent AIADMK will be prohibition, the assets case that party general secretary Jayalalithaa is facing, the Chembarambakkam lake opening and subsequent floods last year. DMK, of course will have to fight the 2G missives from the ruling party in which its ally Congress too is facing court cases. Apart from this, Karunanidhi’s party will have to answer myriad questions like the Lankan Tamils’ welfare, fishermen arrest and the jallikattu. DMK will also have to tackle its own dynastic politics, including sibling rivalry and the issue of poll tickets to wards of veterans. 

While the allies in DMDK-PWF will use prohibition, corruption, Lankan Tamils issue and 2G scam as fodder for their cannons, Left will have to bear the brunt of the sedition row at JNU and its fallout. Similarly, Congress may try to pin down Left and BJP on several national issues. Left will also have to defend their ‘double’ stance on Jhadavpur and Koodankulam nuclear plants. 

While Communists want the Jhadavpur (a French supported project) unit to be shut, they are completely silent on Koodankulam (a Russian-built facility).In the case of DMDK, some embarrassing questions may be posed by its rivals regarding the unity in the party as several senior leaders had sought supposedly greener pastures of late. 

Similarly, the performance of Vijayakanth as Opposition leader and as an MLA of Rishivandiyam will come under the microscope from other alliances. Rivals may also make a mockery of his conduct in public as he is well known to lose his cool. MDMK leader Vaiko’s frequent pitch on “money factor” in polls and his inconsistency in sticking to one alliance may win brownie points for opponents. 

For PMK, the villain of the piece will come in the form of the medical colleges approval case against Anbumani and the Vanniyar factor. PMK on the other hand may take on VCK by blaming the latter for caste tensions in the State and for engineering inter-caste marriages. 

The saffron party has the biggest task as its rivals may corner it over a series of ‘intolerance’ cases and saffronisation of various sectors. The ‘hollow promises’ of PM Modi guaranteeing development will also face flak.

A major talking point when the high voltage battle scene shifts to Western TN will be the GAIL pipeline. 

This campaign promises lots of fireworks as the going gets tough every day. How well the leading players play their cards deftly will be known on May 19.