Tamil Nadu Is Getting Big Focus In BJP’s Lok Sabha Poll Strategy For Southern States

By S. Sethuraman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday night chaired a nearly five hour long huddle of the BJP top brass to discuss organisational and government changes, narrative focus and strategy and tools for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

The meeting at the official residence of PM here was attended by BJP chief JP Nadda, party general secretary organisation BL Santosh, union home minister Amit Shah among other senior leaders.

It is learnt that apart from discussing the need for cabinet reshuffle and organisational revamp for greater vigour, the leaders decided to divide the country into east, north and south clusters for micro management and specific focus. The meeting of the east cluster comprising northeastern states—Bengal and Odisha— will take place in Guwahati on July 6, north zone meeting—consisting of Delhi, JK, Himachal, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MP, UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat and Chandigarh— in Delhi on July 7 and south zone meeting— consisting of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu , Kerala and Karnataka— in Hyderabad on July 8.

The meetings will provide future strategies to leaders ahead of elections besides clarifying the big political narratives BJP will push. PM has made it clear that his government will work for empowerment of the deprived rather than appeasement. Ways to push the uniform civil code pitch will also be debated at BJP’s upcoming meetings. Sources said cabinet and party reshuffle could happen in July.

South, particularly Tamil Nadu could become the hottest battle zone for BJP. The first shot has been fired, for BJP, by Governor Ravi’s dismissal of TN Minister Senthil Balaji facing trial for money laundering. This underlines that Modi Government could put Stalin’s government under more pressures in days to come. Though the Governor held back the dismissal of Balaji after big outrage in political circles and strong condemnation by the Chief Minister, the Governor’s initial measure exposes the thinking of the BJP high command.

BJP game would be to unsettle the working of Stalin government with all pressures the Centre could exercise even under existing legal/constitutional framework. Mr Ravi’s action shows that he is not bound by the ways of the elected government. He is acting as a part of the BJP strategy group for the southern states.

Now TN Governor has also shown the way for BJP mandated governors in some other politically sensitive states. Centre appointed Governors in West Bengal and Telangana will follow the directive given by the centre to implement the BJP’s election strategy. That way, more pressures will be mounted by the central agencies on the opposition politicians in West Bengal and Telangana. Telangana is going for assembly polls later this year. The BJP central leadership is determine to cut to size BRS supremo Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao through the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department officials

Some more criminal cases against Senthil Balaji under Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code are being investigated and the centre is expected to go full blast in pursuing the cases against the TN minister before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The same is with the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh where despite all efforts, the BJP could not expand its base after the 2018 assembly elections in which the BJP could not get a single seat. The ruling party at the centre contested in 173 seats in the assembly and forfeited the security deposit in all. The BJP got only 0.84 per cent of the total votes polled in 2018 assembly polls in AP. (IPA Service)

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