The Saffron Surge and the Rise of the Thalapathy
The biggest surprise in Monday’s counting of votes in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is the actor-turned-politician Vijay who surpassed both the Dravidian parties- DMK and AIDMK led coalitions. Almost all the agencies which conducted the exit polls went wrong in the case of Tamil Nadu. All of them proved right in case of Assam and Keralam. In West Bengal there are many reasons for the defeat of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
The anti-incumbency sentiment in both West Bengal and Tamil Nadu was underestimated. There was no anti-incumbency in Assam and Puducherry. While Stalin had one term anti-incumbency, Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan had two-term and Mamata had three-term anti-incumbency. While the BJP improved its position in Assam and Puducherry it has created a shock in West Bengal. There was never any doubt about the ‘mama’ (Hemath Biswa Sharma) winning again. The supporters of Tarun Gogoi, the Congress leader, was not given enough support by his party colleagues some of whom joined the BJP on the eve of the elections. In Keralam, Pinarayi Vijayan has ruled for ten years, a record of sort in that state. But the Congress-led UDF has been leading in local body elections and it was expected to win. There is no element of surprise. Two chief ministers, Mamata and Stalin losing their elections is something extraordinary in these elections.
Bengal’s ‘Poribartan’ 2.0: The Fall of the Trinamool Fortress
The most surprising result has come from West Bengal. The BJP victory may not be unexpected but the margin of victory and the fact that the BJP has got more than 200 seats was truly surprising. Manipulation by the Election Commission in west Bengal voters’ list where it deleted about 91 lakh votes cannot be ignored, even if the Godi media does not mention that fact at all while analyzing the results. Women seem to have voted to the BJP in large numbers in West Bengal this time thanks to the so called women reservation bill that Narendra Modi used as a ploy just before the polling in the State. RG KAR case in which a doctor was raped and murdered was given extensive publicity by the BJP highlighting the lack of law and order during Mamata rule. Amit Shah’s promise of implementing seventh pay commission within 45 days after coming to power also encouraged the state government employees to vote for the BJP. The fight was mainly between Didi, the chief minister, and the Dada, the prime minister in which the Dada had won. The unprecedented deployment of central forces and micro-observers also helped the BJP cadres. Suvendu Adhikari, once a trusted colleague of Mamata who switched over to the BJP in 2020 and defeated her in Nandigram in 2021 is likely to take over as BJP chief minister. The other names making rounds in the BJP circles are Samik Bhattacharya, an RSS old-hand and Swapan Dasgupta, a senior journalist and the face of Bhadralok.
‘Bengal has seen Poribartan today,’ said the PM at the BJP headquarters in Delhi. Modi also predicted the fall of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party that had blocked the women quota bill. ‘The two parties will have to face the wrath of women,’ he quipped. “It was also a matter of pride for the BJP that Anga (modern day Bihar), Banga (Bengal) and Kalinga (Odisha)- the three pillars of ancient India-have chosen the NDA to help the country move forward again,” Modi added.
Mamata Banerjee lost her stronghold Bhabanipur to Suvendu Adhikari. A furious Mamata attributed the shock verdict to “loot, loot, loot. ”More than 100 seats BJP looted. The Election Commission is BJP’s commission. Do you think it is a victory? It is an immoral victory, not a moral victory. Whatever the Election Commission has done, along with the central forces and the PM and HM is totally illegal. It is loot, loot, loot. We will bounce back” she said. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also said the BJP has looted 100 seats in West Bengal.
The Vijay Phenomenon: TVK Topples the Dravidian Duopoly
Vijay’s TVK has won 108 seats, just eleven seats away from the simple majority mark in Tamil Nadu. For Vijay, lakhs of fan followers oragnised themselves into ‘rasigar mandram’ (fan clubs) throughout Tamil Nadu. These units indulged in structured welfare measures for the people. Blood donation camps, relief work, student felicitation, community work and other pro-people works were taken up by them. In cities like Coimbatore, there are thousands of fan clubs which developed direct non-political relationship with families. Out of 169 candidates fielded by Vijay in the elections, 108 won. The vigil, the election symbol of TVK party, became popular in no time. R. Sabarinathan, Vijay’s driver’s son won Virugumpakkam seat by over 22,000 votes. Vijay has made ordinary people the MLAs some of whom are going to be ministers.
DMK chief MK Stalin, the chief minister, has lost his Kolathur seat to TVK’s AS Babu, a former DMK man who first defected to AIADMK and then to TVK. Stalin’s son and deputy chief minister Udayanidhi has managed to win his Chepauk seat. The young and new leaders nominated by Vijay as his candidates have given the senior leaders of the DMK and the AIADMK a run for their money and won the elections. While TVK was in the first place and the DMK in the second the AIADMK has been relegated to number three position. It’s future remains uncertain with Vijay establishing himself as a force to reckon with. Palaniswami, the boss of AIADMK is not a big loser like Stalin (Palaniswami won his seat) but not a winner either. Stalin lost his seat for the second time in his career.
A Victory for Integrity: Vijay’s Moral Triumph over Money Power
Vijay has defied age, caste, religion and regional divides. Moreover, Vijay did not spend money for votes. He never paid the voters. He had to fight many odds. He was targeted by the state government after the Karur stampede in which forty of his fans were killed. His film Jana Nayagan has been stalled by the censor board. Vijay’s diverse became a public talk. It was used a fodder by his rivals in their social media campaign. People stayed with him despite all the problems. That is the specialty of the hero.
Prominent Journalist
Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy is a versatile journalist with a distinguished career. Dr. Murthy began his extensive career with Andhra Prabha of The Indian Express group in Bengaluru. He was editor of Udayam, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothy. Dr. Murthy founded and edited HMTV news channel and The Hans India, an English newspaper. He was also editorial director of the Telugu newspaper, Saakshi. He was awarded Ph. D for his research work in rural reporting. Dr. Murthy’s five decades in journalism showcases his influential roles across both print and electronic media. He wrote the political biography of NTR published by Harper Collins.
