A day after making a courtesy call on superstar Rajinikanth, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president Poonam Mahajan on Monday addressed a protest rally in Chennai against the Edappadi K. Palanisamy government in the state. The MP's meeting with the actor and the rally assume significance as they come at a time when the saffron party is trying hard to expand its footprints in the state amid the ongoing political crisis.
The protest rally called the “March to the Fort” was held demanding prohibition, civic polls and improvement of education in government-run schools.
Addressing the rally, Mahajan said, "The sun is setting and the leaves are falling apart”—a reference to the party symbols of both the DMK and the ruling AIADMK.
Invoking the "Tamil pride", she highlighted the welfare initiatives undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Tamil Nadu fishermen and asserted that the time was ripe for the lotus to bloom "everywhere in the state".
Mahajan listed the Centre's recent initiatives, including a Rs-1,500 crore plan to convert bottom trawlers into deep sea long- liners for the fishermen of the state.
Beginning and ending her speech with Vanakkam, the BJP leader said she would try and speak in Tamil the next time and be a "Tamil sister".
BJP Tamil Nadu unit president Thamizhisai Soundararajan said: "This rally shows our strength. The state will go for civic polls. The BJP is all set to face it".
Poonam Mahajan with superstar Rajinikanth at his residence in Chennai on Sunday | PTI
Mahajan's meeting with Rajinikanth on Sunday has sparked off speculations in the political circle as the actor had recently hinted that he might consider joining politics.
The saffron brigade has been vociferous and seemingly very active in the state for quite a while, especially after the demise of former chief minister and AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa. However, the party has accelerated its campaign in the recent months, apparently to cash in on the political instability in the state following the fragmentation of the ruling party. It seems that the saffron party is hoping that it could fill the political vacuum created after the death of Jayalalithaa and retirement of DMK chief M.Karunanidhi from active politics.
With just 2.8 per cent vote share in the last state elections, BJP has no legislators in the assembly. The party, however, has one MP from the state—Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan.
The party's Vistarak Yojana programme and the scheduled visit of its national president Amit Shah on August 22 add more spice to its future plans in the state. Sources in party's state unit say that Shah will oversee the programmes' progress and get connected with the party workers to build a strong organisational structure for BJP in Tamil Nadu.
It may be recalled that in March this year, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision making and policy formulation body of the RSS conducted a grand rally in the state for the first time in its 92-year-old history. Also, Venkaiah Naidu's visit to the state secretariat, when he was a Union minister, to oversee the implementation of central schemes on the day of metro rail project launch in Chennai indicated BJP's desperation to make inroads in the state. Now the BJP's rally and Poonam Mahajan's meeting with Rajinikanth, too, gain political importance in this background.
(With inputs from agencies)
