At a time when the BJP and its allies at the Centre are celebrating the Ram temple bhoomi pujan in Ayodhya, the party's Tamil Nadu unit has more reasons to celebrate. Soon, it will have an MLA in the state assembly to sing praises of the saffron party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that too, from the opposition DMK in the state.
As it turns out, though the period of the assembly will be just eight months from now, the winter session this year and two sessions in 2021 will have a BJP for the first time since 2006.
On Tuesday, it was bad news coming in for the DMK. Ku Ka Selvam, DMK legislator from Thousand Lights, flew all the way from Chennai to Delhi during the pandemic to ask for two lifts or elevators at the Nungambakkam railway station, which falls under his constituency.
Selvam who went to Delhi to meet railway minister Piyush Goyal, however, called on BJP president J.P. Nadda, along with his former colleague V.P. Duraiswamy, who recently walked out of the DMK to join the saffron party. The two were accompanied by BJP state president L. Murugan. But Selvam did not join the BJP as speculated.
While his intention was to “seek lifts” for the railway station in his constituency, he did not fail to place other demands. Only that the demands were for his party leader Stalin. He said the DMK should eschew the Congress party from its alliance and Stalin should comment on the Kandha Shashti issue, which had hurt the feelings of the Tamil people.
However, Selvam’s meeting with Nadda, and his statements thereafter, have put the DMK in a spot. Selvam, who had his eyes on DMK’s Chennai West district secretary post, was left disappointed after the party chose a newbie and youngster N. Chitrarasu for the position.
The post fell vacant after the demise of J. Anbalagan. Sources say there was a tough fight within the partymen in Chennai to get the district secretary post after the death of Anbalagan and Selvam was one of the contenders. They say that he did not take part in the Anbalagan portrait unveiling event as he was upset that the party’s top leadership did not consider him for the district secretary post. At least eight division secretaries in the Chennai west region opposed Chitrarasu's appointment. He was the choice of DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin. But the party high command, sources say, though was aware of Selvam’s dissatisfaction, did not pacify him. Party insiders also say that Selvam was in trouble in a real estate deal in the outskirts of Chennai and thought being with the ruling party could help him.
Though Selvam doesn’t command a vote bank or have a cadre strength, he represents Thousand Lights, one of the prestigious constituencies as far as the DMK is concerned. Incidentally, DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam, DMK youth wing headquarters Anbagam and Stalin’s Chittaranjan avenue residence fall under Thousand Lights.
In addition, this was the constituency from where Stalin won as a MLA for the first time in 1989 and lost against AIADMK’s K.A. Krishnasamy in 1984. It may be recalled that Selvam, though had a track record of being one of the important names in the Chennai West district, he never climbed up to head the district.
Selvam began his career in politics when MGR launched the ADMK in 1972. He was part of the three-member team, including M. Murthy and Ko Swaminathan. Those were the days when Jeppiar was the district secretary. But he was always seen as Stalin’s confidante as he came into the DMK with his support in 1997. DMK insiders recall that Karunanidhi, as usual, did not give space for Selvam despite Stalin's efforts to elevate him against the then district secretary J. Anbazhagan.
Selvam’s move now has come as a huge embarrassment for the DMK, as he is one of its sitting MLAs. And Stalin, as the leader of the only party that is vociferous against the BJP, Modi and the Centre’s policies, stands to lose as the BJP has started taking on the Dravidian party, both ideologically and politically. And with Selvam’s likely defection, the DMK and Stalin have lost in the perception battle against the BJP.
Be it the issue with the defection of V.P. Duraisamy or now Selvam, the DMK high command has come under fire for not pacifying them. Apparently, the DMK, which once used to set the political agenda in the state, has been running around of late to find answers to the trivial issues brought up by the Hindutva groups. Right from painting a Thiruvalluvar statue saffron to the recent Kandha Sashti issue, the Sangh affiliates have pushed the DMK to a spot to react.
Though these trivial issues might not bring in a drastic change in vote-bank politics, it has paved the way for religious polarisation in the Dravidian land.