Why Stalin's presence at Bharat Jodo Yatra matters for DMK

Stalin’s presence at the launch of the yatra is part of the DMK’s strategy to keep its opposition to BJP alive

When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin hands over the Tricolour to Rahul Gandhi in Kanyakumari on September 7 after launching the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he will be sending two messages – one to the Congress and another to the electorate of his state.

The message for the Congress is that the DMK will remain a “trusted ally” of the party notwithstanding its “friendly relationships” with TRS, TMC, and AAP, while the second message is a clear signal for the people of Tamil Nadu that his party has no intention of tying up with the BJP, which still remains unpopular in the state.

Stalin’s presence at the launch of Rahul’s yatra is part of the DMK’s strategy to keep its opposition to BJP alive as the political discourse in Tamil Nadu warrants this kind of a repeated assertion. And Stalin also wants to tell the Congress that the DMK will stand by it even as many regional parties are reluctant to support the national outfit.

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“Standing with the Congress, the pivotal Opposition force against BJP, helps the DMK more than it does to the national party. That is how different TN is from the rest of the country. DMK believes it needs Congress at the national level and in the state, and that thinking gets reflected in such ways,” a political observer said.

He recalled that it was Stalin who first proposed Rahul Gandhi as the alliance’s Prime Ministerial candidate in 2018. “It didn’t help Congress nationally, but immensely helped the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu where it won 38 out of 39 seats while getting decimated in other states. Stalin believes being with Congress will help him in TN, and that is why he walks the extra mile in keeping the national party happy,” the observer added.

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In the past couple of months, the DMK chief has gone out of the way to reassure his alliance partners – Congress, Left parties, and VCK – that his anti-BJP stance remains steadfast and even declared that his party will not even make “slightest of compromise” with BJP or RSS ideologically.

Being close with Congress and reiterating his friendship with the national party and Rahul Gandhi, who still remains popular in the state, helps the DMK further its anti-BJP stance, political observers say.

This has become more important, the observers say, as the BJP attempts to project itself as the “prime rival” to the ruling DMK by taking advantage of the internal problems in the AIADMK, the principal opposition party with 66 MLAs in a house of 234.

They feel Stalin inviting Kejriwal to launch education-related schemes in Tamil Nadu is also part of the same strategy as the Delhi Chief Minister is also seen as a potential “anti-BJP” force.

Senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH that the anti-BJP mindset has been sowed, nurtured, and drilled into the minds of the electorate by the Dravidian parties over the decades.

“With the BJP now making it Dravidianism versus saffron, it is obvious that M K Stalin will up his anti-BJP stance. It is natural for him to join hands with other people who are anti-BJP as well. The noise against BJP will only grow as the days come,” he said.