In TN, Congress manifesto is a winner all the way, BJP faces a whitewash as DMK-INC alliance set to sweep

The Congress-DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu for the April 18 elections to the Lok Sabha is having a smooth sail in the electoral waters. Not only have poll surveys and personal estimates at the ground level forecast a thumping victory for the alliance, giving the Congress eight or nine of the 10 constituencies, the party has earned the confidence of people at the grassroots level as an potential alternative at the Centre.

The hero of the Congress this time is its manifesto, over which many people in Tamil Nadu are going gaga as it addresses many of the issues that other so-called national parties pooh pooh at, terming them chauvinistic ideas. For example, the long-pending demand for taking education off the concurrent list was addressed in the Congress manifesto that promises to bring school education in the state list. Many people are upbeat that the move would make educational reforms possible in the state.

The possibility of the present NEET, the medical college entrance exam conducted at the national level, being scrapped was well received in the state, which had fought a valiant but losing war against it, particularly after it became an emotional issue following the suicide of Anitha, a girl from Ariyalur. It is still talked about even in remote places, as a weaver at T Subalapuram village near Andipatti expressed concern over many students in his village not being able to become doctors despite scoring high marks in the public examination.

Women farm workers in Andipatti are aware of Congress president Rahul Gandhi insisting on farm loan waivers and also other farmer-friendly promises in the manifesto, thanks to smartphones and cheap data connections. They express a wish for a change in government at the Centre. In fact, the entire state is seeing the present election as a means to dethrone the BJP government.

So, the BJP, which has fielded just five candidates as a constituent of the seven-party AIADMK alliance, is floundering in the field, unable to draw crowds even for its meetings. But for Coimbatore, where two-time MP CP Radhakrishnan has been fielded against CPI(M) candidate PR Natarajan, nowhere else the party has a remote possibility of winning. In Kanayakumari, sitting MP Pon Radhakrisnan is facing an anti-incumbency wave.

Others like H Raja in Sivaganga, Tamilisai Soundarajan in Tirunelveli and Nainar Nagendran in Ramanathapuram have no hope of coming close to winning, even with the help of alliance partners like the AIADMK, PMK and DMDK, which is in sharp contrast to the prospects of the Congress candidates, for whom not only votes but also campaign support is forthcoming from the alliance parties like the DMK.

The determination of DMK president MK Stalin, to wrest all the 40 seats for the alliance, is making him go all over the state and canvass votes for all the candidates of the alliance. So Congressmen H Vasanthakumar and Karti Chidambaram have a sure possibility of beating their BJP rivals in Kanyakumari and Sivaganga while Puducherry may return V Vaithilingan to Parliament as the people have become sick of the antics of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi who believes that she enjoys sky-high powers to rule the Union Territory. The rival, K Narayanasamy of All India NR Congress, actually a breakaway group of the Congress, might not be preferred by the people because of their antipathy towards Kiran Bedi.

Other Congress candidates, Manickam Tagore in Virudhunagar, EVKS Elangovan in Theni, Su Thirunavukarasar in Tiruchi, Jothimani Sennimalai in Karur and MK Vishnu Prasad in Arani, are expected to have easy

wins over their rivals for various reasons like the united vote bank of the alliance, the hard work of DMK leaders and workers and the splintered support base of the AIADMK. TTV Dinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munetra Kazhagm, contesting under the ‘Gift Pack’ symbol, is sure to take away a chunk of the votes.

A Chellakumar, who is facing Agri SS Krishamurthi in Krishnagiri, and K Jayakumar, pitted against the sitting MP P Venugopal, are the two Congressmen involved in a tough fight against AIADMK rivals. But again, the untested ability of AMMK to wean away traditional voters from the AIADMK could do wonders for the Congress candidates. For, it is not known how many voters, particularly women, would go for the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol when they are aware that their iconic leader J Jayalalithaa is no more. For, unlike MK Stalin, who is seen as a legitimate heir of M Karunanidhi, the AIADMK leader has not earned the people’s support.

Above all, the masterstroke of the Congress to field Rahul Gandhi at Wayanad in Kerala has given credence to his averments that he has a liking for south India, unlike the BJP which is still seen, mainly because of its leaders’ arrogant attitudes, as a North Indian party out to promote Hindi and suppress south Indian languages. Rahul Gandhi’s address at the Stella Maris College in Chennai, before the roller coaster campaign picked up momentum, had prepared the ground for the Congress to sprout and bloom, offering a fresh alternative to the voters, particularly those of the younger generations.