BJP counter-narrative to imperious, isolated govt in Tamil Nadu, says P Muralidhar Rao

Our rival is very much identified. A party fighting an election would expose the follies and the wrongs of the present government… In Tamil Nadu, the leadership has been inaccessible and unavailable. What we want to do is project the contrast between the AIADMK and the BJP — imperious and isolated versus an intermingling leader moving with the people. The BJP’s philosophy is that the chief minister is the mukhya sevak, whereas in Tamil Nadu the leader has been missing when the people has needed her most. On many occasions including the floods in Chennai, the leader was not present. There has been no dialogue nor a participatory democratic process. What BJP offers is a counter-narrative to the imperious and isolated leadership in Tamil Nadu. The DMK does not qualify to give a different narrative either. You cannot expect M Karunanidhi to lead from the front…

Is your aim to project yourself as an alternative or just up your vote share?

We have both short-term and long-term goals. Our campaign has synchronised both. It’s a big state, technologically advanced, it has a large diaspora, a large young population [1.7 crore first-time voters]. Politics in Tamil Nadu is going through a transition. Large chunks of the population are unhappy with consecutive governments. The BJP is catering to that appeal. We have succeeded in incorporating all these sections in our candidates’ list. Among the 54 candidates, 22 communities have been represented. We believe there will be surprises in this election.

How are you handling the well-known differences between Union minister Pon Radhakrihshan and state BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan?

Internal differences are there, but never in the history of the state unit has it gone beyond our management capabilities, nor will it hurt the growth objectives of the party. We are united and aggressive.

You once told The Indian Express that the BJP would try to get small community groups into the party fold. How far have you succeeded?

Now when we are finalising candidates, looking at the kind of representation… we are sure our social engineering has started working… We have a good support base among Devendra Vellalars, Yadav, Nadars, Tevars, Gounders, Mutaliyars, fishermen.

What happened to Amit Shah’s plan for an OBC-Dalit axis?

The BJP is the main party for OBCs and Dalits. But unlike the Lok Sabha elections, it’s a local election. Sometimes they have their own issues. In a bipolar atmosphere, they have a tendency to gravitate to either pole. But a multi-cornered contest is a reality this time. It will create an option for the BJP as well as voters . By the next Lok Sabha polls, the BJP wants to become the major alternative pole… since the Congress has disappeared forever, the BJP’s growth has begun.

So would you say your experiments have failed so far? Or will you be able to turn the RSS’s ground support into votes?

No, we have not failed. The BJP will be a force to reckon with. The parties will come with us only after the BJP emerges with a solid support base and significant vote share. It’s a passing phase toward brightness. The BJP’s appeal is increasing in the south. Old is giving way to new politics… All the work done by the RSS, especially in the southern part of the state, has helped the BJP spread its wings… Converting this into victory will start soon.

MDMK leader Vaiko, now heading a new front, has alleged that the BJP made offers to Vijayakanth.

Neither Vijayakanth nor Premalatha (his wife) said so. I don’t know whose benefit Vaiko was aiming at . Instead of attacking the ruling party or the CM, he chose to attack the BJP… Why is he angry now? Everyone knows neither the BJP nor Modiji believes in nontransparent offers.

In Kerala and Bengal, the BJP has managed to rope in popular figures. What about Tamil Nadu where film stars dominate the political and social space? What about Rajnikanth?

We too have celebrities in our party — we have Napolean and Vijaykumar. There will definitely be more surprises. As far as Rajnikanth is considered, it’s up to him. But he has goodwill towards all our leaders.