Delimitation row fuels DMK’s final push against AIADMK, Vijay in race against time

A week is a long time in politics. And in Tamil Nadu, the incumbent DMK, in the thick of its campaign for the April 23 Assembly elections which may have thrown up various imponderables, has less than a week to ignite the delimitation row into a full-blown poll issue. The row does not seem to have become a major talking point among people so far on the poll eve despite Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin’s tough talk and call for street protests. But Tamil Nadu’s political landscape is unique in many ways. It was the first state to embrace regional forces when it voted out the Congress way back in 1967, when the latter had absolute political domination across the country. Governed by the two leading Dravidian parties alternatively for about six decades, the state’s natural impulse is to view moves by the Central government with suspicion. This despite the fact that the Dravidian majors have shared power at the Centre in the past as part of different coalitions, both with the Congress and the BJP. Identity politics can never be divorced from Tamil Nadu politics, with both the DMK and its rival AIADMK always keen to champion Tamil pride. Latching on to the BJP-led Centre’s delimitation proposal, Stalin has been trying to campaign on the issue for some time, framing it as an “injustice” to Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring southern states. “The DMK has stood for more powers to the state. But we find that is being consistently eroded… the way this is being altered now. Even though on Thursday, PM Modi has assured that there will not be any change in the proportion of states in the Lok Sabha after delimitation, we have to see how exactly it’s being done, why there is no transparency. So, in that sense, it is another opportunity for DMK to show that it is the representative of the interest of the South against a majoritarian North,” says noted Tamil historian and academic A R Venkatachalapathy. But as the poll campaign reaches a crescendo, the conversations on the ground mainly revolve around the impact film star-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK would have on the elections besides various local factors including caste. “Next few days, we have to wait and see. It’s just two days only (since the Centre brought a delimitation legislation), let us see. I think it has great implications,” Venkatachalapathy says. “I think the timing of the delimitation move is going to help DMK. Because they (Centre) are doing it in a rushed manner. It is not transparent at all. And the Election Commission is not doing anything. A major kind of legislative piece is being moved during the elections. This is all unprecedented. The impression we get is that delimitation might become an important issue,” he adds. The DMK seems to be acutely aware of possible shift of a section of its Dalit and young voters to the TVK – the AIADMK is equally worried – and is keen to rake up the delimitation issue to attract sections which are favourable to the AIADMK but are upset with its alliance with the BJP. These sentiments could be heard not just from minorities but among other communities too. The DMK has a history of being a critic of all centralisation attempts, fiercely opposed to linguistic and cultural homogenisation. It has been a staunch votary of “true federalism” and enhanced autonomy for states. The delimitation row fuels such a DMK campaign, and that too on the eve of the elections. With the AIADMK being aligned with the BJP, the DMK believes it solely occupies the anti-Centre space in the state. “In any case, the AIADMK is not articulating any ideological position,” Venkatachalapathy says. However, the issue is complex and not easily explainable to common voters, unlike the controversy over NEET, devolution of the central funds or Hindi “imposition”. It is being talked about mainly by the DMK supporters. A large chunk of youth voters, who are enthusiastic about Vijay, are not looking at such issues as they believe in his narrative of change. But Venkatachalapathy says conscious people are agitated. “That’s why you find that a new generation of educated youth are getting drawn to DMK. Don’t just look at Vijay’s processions. You look at the forums where the young people are talking and debating and discussing. There is no doubt that there is a great awareness,” he claims. Not to be left behind in this identity politics race and give the DMK ammunition that he was “friendly” towards the BJP, Vijay, too, has quickly painted delimitation as a “biased action” by the Centre, which, he also alleges, would diminish the representation of the southern states in lawmaking related to their rights, language and culture while increasing the heft of the northern states. An MP from the Congress, a major DMK ally, says, “Delimitation is not an issue in this election. It will be in the future. It is being talked about by the intelligentsia now. It will percolate slowly. That the southern states will lose out is a legitimate concern and we are communicating it but this will not have any impact on the elections.” At the same time, he also says: “But we will not lose votes. Whatever it is will be our gain only…this time local issues are at play.” Rahul Gandhi, who has curiously not campaigned in Tamil Nadu so far, is expected to hit the campaign trail here during the last three days. He is set to raise the delimitation issue to target the BJP, Congress leaders say. The DMK machinery seems to be more preoccupied with its final leg of canvassing now. In some urban pockets, its cadres have put up black flags to protest the Centre’s delimitation move, but their focus remains only on last- minute outreach to voters. Manoj C G currently serves as the Chief of National Political Bureau at ... Read More