DC Edit | Politics, History: Much Ado About PM Tamil Nadu Visit
Flying into the State straight from picturesque Maldives, the Prime Minister paid tributes to ancient Tamil king Rajendra Chola, who had built the town as well as the temple, besides a sprawling lake, 1,000 years ago, apart from making foreign conquests
The vignette of Prime Minister Narendra Modi wafting through the colonnaded precincts of the historic abode of Lord Brihadeeswar at Gangaikonda Cholapuram in shimmering silk, holding a pot of holy water close to his chest, was picture perfect. It presented a devotee in traditional attire seeking divine blessings with religious fervour. But how much would that image help Modi gain what he has long been seeking in Tamil Nadu: a political recognition that would help his party, the BJP, be in an alliance that will romp home in the next elections.
Flying into the State straight from picturesque Maldives, the Prime Minister paid tributes to ancient Tamil king Rajendra Chola, who had built the town as well as the temple, besides a sprawling lake, 1,000 years ago, apart from making foreign conquests. Paying encomiums to the ancient monarch for his administrative acumen and military might, Modi said the legacy of the Chola dynasty drew the roadmap for modern India to emerge as a developed nation.
But will that shower of praise for a Tamil dynasty of yore evoke people’s sentiments that will convert into ballots in the modern day context, particularly when the present ruler of the State, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, had fired a missive reiterating that the visiting PM was holding back funds meant for Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Siksha Abhiyan scheme, besides raising a slew of demands. Even if that is dismissed as a grumble of a disgruntled leader in the opposite side of the BJP’s political spectrum, Modi did nothing to pacify a curious ally in the State, who has been demanding an answer.
The AIADMK’s top honcho Edappadi K. Palaniswami has been seeking a clear answer, particularly since he has already embarked on a State-wide campaign tour for the elections that are close to a year away, on the boggling question over the nature of the alliance his party has struck with the BJP. Amidst the mockery of the rivals, who predict an overrun of the AIADMK by the mighty BJP after it helps the national party win some seats in the Assembly polls, Palaniswami would have liked to get that clarification from the PM that he may not have got.
Since Palaniswami has been claiming that it is the AIADMK that would lead the coalition, in which the BJP is a part, and that he would be the Chief Minister if the alliance wins, provoking another round of naysaying from the opposite camp, he has been waiting for Amit Shah, the Union home minister who originally scripted the alliance singlehandedly without any interruption from the AIADMK, to come down to Chennai and make things clear for the people.
With Shah unable to make the much-awaited trip, Palaniswami would have liked Modi to spell out the terms of the alliance dispelling fears of the BJP overrunning the AIADMK. But not only did things not turn out in favour of Palaniswami, they also did not favour the BJP. To believe that a PM’s sudden open devotion for a deity in an old temple in the State would turn the voters to the BJP is nothing but absurd, particularly when the State is known for religiosity and also rationalism, both travelling hand in hand without any conflict.
