South still a faraway dream for BJP

If there is one region which has eluded the grasp of the saffronists steadfastly except for one honorable exception, it is South India.

With its 130 odd seats, the region’s states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have staved off repeated attempts by the BJP for many decades to build up a base, aided by its ideological guru, the RSS.

There are a host of reasons for this and it would be worth examining them in the context of a determined effort by PM Modi to storm the South; he has made as many as seven visits to Tamil Nadu in the past 10 weeks taking the ruling DMK and AIADMK by surprise.

The BJP has made the battle for Tamil Nadu a prestigious one by putting up its state president Annamalai in the Coimbatore seat and former governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in Chennai South.

No less determined have been its attempts to win a seat or two in Kerala where it has scored a blank in most elections.

It has thrust Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the popular actor Suresh Gopi into the fray but it remains to be seen if there will be any change in the electoral choice of the Malayali, who has hardly looked beyond the LDF and UDF.

The reasons why Kerala and TN have never fallen for the saffron bait are not hard to find; ‘God’s Own Country’ has always been known for its culture of harmony with travelers from faraway shores arriving and assimilating with the state’s population.

The highly educated voter has always looked down with disdain on attempts to create a communal divide.

No less secular is Tamil Nadu where the Dravidian movement against obscure traditions and Brahminism ensured a powerful wave of social reform which till this day, continues to benefit both the DMK and its rival, the AIADMK.

Secularism and harmony are deeply embedded in the psyche of the Tamilian and there does not seem to be any sign of a waning of the mood despite aggressive attempts by the BJP to carve out a niche in the Tamil mind.

With Telangana going the Congress way in the recent Assembly polls, not many expect the BJP to buck the trend in the parliament elections.

In Andhra Pradesh, some gains can be expected with the party joining hands with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP but then most analysts expect the majority of seats to be shared be regional parties like the TDP and YSRCP.

The only state where the BJP has been able to establish itself as a formidable force is Karnataka.

The state has powerful mutts which play an influential role in the lives of Kannadigas and the BJP has painstakingly ensured that it keeps the mutts in good stead whether during election time or otherwise.

The saffron presence could also be because of the toil of leaders like Yediyurappa and the late Ananth Kumar, who despite loss after loss, kept the hopes of the saffron fold alive.

But not many expect the BJP to hold on to the 25 seats it won in 2019. The poll guarantees of the Congress government have no doubt made a deep impact on people of the state; women now travel free across Karnataka and poor families are entitled to grains and dole outs; power consumption below 200 units is free and youngsters struggling for jobs are also entitled to dole outs.

No state government in the past has been so generous to its population despite the staggering economic burden on the exchequer and this is likely to weigh on the minds of voters as they make the trip to the polling booths on April 26 and May 7.

In such circumstances, it remains to be seen if PM Modi’s repeated attempts to win over southern hearts ahead of the polls, will succeed in any substantial measure.