NEW DELHI: Lack of a popular face, failure to negotiate a pre-poll alliance with actor and incumbent Chief Minister Vijay Tamilaja Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and inability of the cadre to put up a collective fight against the opposition have been identified as the main reasons behind the BJP’s dismal performance in Tamil Nadu, people familiar with the details said.
These details have been shared with senior party officers, who are scheduled to chair a meeting to review the party’s performance, followed by a reorganization in the state’s organizational structure, people familiar with the details said. They added that a section of party leaders feel that the leadership failed to acknowledge Vijay’s popularity and hence did not pursue the alliance seriously.
Although Vijay attacked both the BJP and its ally AIADMK in his election rallies, there was talk of forming a larger front against the ruling DMK. “There were some meetings between the TVK general secretary and senior BJP leaders in Delhi on the possibility of an alliance, but it did not come to fruition and the AIADMK was also not fully involved. The other mistake was that the NDA alliance felt that Vijay’s popularity, as evidenced by the rallies etc., would not translate into votes,” a BJP leader said. The idea was to include parties like TVK, PMK, AMMK (Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam), expelled AIADMK leaders VK Sasikala, O Paneersalvam and others to form a grand alliance.
The leader said the BJP did not expect the support TVK had among the youth – the 18-30 year age group – which propelled Vijay to victory.
“There was a general perception that the TVK, which lacked a strong cadre like the DMK and AIADMK, would end up eating into the DMK’s vote share but would not win enough seats to participate in the race to form the government,” a second BJP leader said.
While TVK emerged with 108 seats and 34.92% votes, the BJP won one seat (less than the previous four) with a vote share of 2.97% (marginally up from the previous 2.67%) and the AIADMK won 47 seats with a vote share of 21.21%.
The BJP, which contested the Assembly elections as a junior partner to the AIADMK, fielded contestants in 33 of the 234 seats.
Two other party workers said the party’s “weak and divided” cadre contributed to the loss, and reliance on the AIADMK does not bode well for the party. “The AIADMK itself was facing challenges after the death of J Jayalalithaa; it had split into factions and E Palaniswami was no longer a face the voters of Tamil Nadu knew,” one of them said.
A fifth BJP leader agreed that voters in the state prefer leaders who have a “cult-like” following.
“This is a state where (former chief ministers) Major General Ramachandran, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa were larger than life. Personality dominates politics on the ground, and a leader who has a linguistic, cultural and emotional connection with the masses has a better chance. There have been exceptions too, like Kamal Haasan… So, the BJP will need to focus on finding and promoting a face that resonates with the masses.”
Haasan, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, fielded the MNM, which failed to win a single seat in the 2021 Lok Sabha polls, and himself lost to the BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan.
Differences between state unit leaders and the rift between former state president K Annamali and the AIADMK that led to the brief collapse of the two allies in 2023 were also pointed out.
The BJP changed the state president in a bid to pacify Palaniswami, but cadres of both parties were cautious about the longevity of the alliance even after the two sides reunited ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Factionalism has proven costly for the BJP. Instead of fighting collectively, our cadres seemed to have surrendered. There is a need for a complete overhaul of the party’s unity. We hope that the central leadership will take stock of the situation and formulate a new plan for the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu,” the fifth leader said.
