For the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the BJP has fielded Vanathi Srinivasan as a candidate to tackle actor-politician Kamal Haasan of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) from the Coimbatore South constituency.
Srinivasan, who now heads the saffron party's women wing, has been a member of the party for a long time. She has also been the party's state secretary. However, Srinivasan's politics emerges from her prolonged presence in public life.
A lawyer by profession, she has largely stayed away from BJP's mainstream agenda while banking on her social activism to maintain a popular public image. She has distanced herself from speeches with communal undertones and focused largely on her public servant image. Ahead of the polls, Srinivasan has said that she is confident of winning minority votes in the constituency.
But BJP, despite being a part of the ruling AIADMK alliance, remains unpopular in the Dravidian state. And, by placing Srinivasan in the driver seat, the party hopes to capitalise on her image.
Actor-turned-politician Haasan then entered the fray and found himself trapped in the 'outsider' debate. Going against the wave of rumours, the actor chose to field himself from the Coimbatore South seat. Srinivasan was quick to respond to his arrival, calling him a "guest". Recently, when Haasan was injured, the BJP leader sent a 'get well soon' note saying the region was popular for taking care of its guests.
Haasan is betting on MNM's performance in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 from Coimbatore South.
When AIADMK, in its poll manifesto, said that it would pursue the Centre to revoke the controversial CAA, Srinivasan said she did not see it as an anti-BJP move. Instead, she drew attention toward developmental works that Palaniswami's government is said to have done for Coimbatore South. While responding, she also highlighted the government's measures for improving women's lives. As for the CAA, she has largely backed the law, even holding rallies supporting it, saying the threat to the Muslim community was misleading propaganda by the DMK.
Thus, she is seen as a unifying force for the saffron party that still struggles to make inroads in Tamil Nadu. And, Vanathi Srinivasan remains one of BJP's important candidates who can change its trajectory in the state.
In 2017, BJP used Srinivasan to reach for a deal with Palaniswami. She met the CM to raise concerns about the water woes of Coimbatore, a key area of her public service.
The meeting sparked speculation whether the barrier between the BJP and AIADMK had been broken. When asked, she reportedly replied with a laugh, saying there was nothing political about it.
"You are free to infer anything," she'd said.