In the first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha election, around 62.3% (preliminary) of 16.63 crore voters attended polling stations in 21 states and union territories on Friday. A total of 1,625 candidates competed for 102 Lok Sabha seats. People in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also voted to elect new assemblies. Despite some isolated incidences of violence and disturbance, polling was generally peaceful. Despite claims of violence, at least 72.32% of voters in one of Manipur’s two seats participated in the election. The first round of the general election saw all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu go to the polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a strong effort to enter politics. The BJP aims to gain a presence in Tamil Nadu, where Dravidian parties confront several hurdles. The charismatic leaders of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi, respectively, passed away in the recent decade. The BJP now has a strong leader in K. Annamalai, a former police officer. While the DMK maintains power in Tamil Nadu, the BJP aims to change the state’s political landscape.
The BJP’s State focus encompasses both ideological and tactical aspects. The party recognises that the largest opposition to its policies comes from Tamil Nadu, where regional parties possess significant social, material, and intellectual resources (outside of the Left parties’ influence). The BJP needs to go beyond its current strongholds in the Hindi belt to gain more seats. According to reports from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, the ruling BJP experienced challenges during the Friday elections. The party thinks that victories in peninsular India will largely offset losses here.
Regional parties around the country are struggling to maintain their positions against the BJP’s dominance, but lack innovative ideas as evidenced by the current campaign. The BJP assumes that popular opposition to national parties in Tamil Nadu has decreased over time.
The BJP’s campaigning in the first round has signalled the seriousness of its southern project, albeit the magnitude of their gains will be determined when the ballots are tabulated.
ABHISHEK VERMA
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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