Comoli bucks Dravidian trend by contesting Congress vs. BJP

CHENNAI: In India’s southern tip, Kanyakumari has emerged victorious in the elections. Unlike the fight between major Dravidian parties in other parts of Tamil Nadu, two national parties are at the forefront of the poll battle. While the Congress presented a secular platform, the BJP worked on Hindu unity and TVK played the alternative card. The BJP is contesting four of the six assembly seats, while its main ally AIADMK has a candidate in one constituency. In the sixth contest, the Tamil Manila Congress, an ally of the BJP, is contesting over the Lotus symbol. In the other camp, the DMK allotted three seats to the Congress, chose to contest two segments and gave the sixth seat to the CPM. There are demographic and historical reasons for the relatively strong presence of the Congress and the BJP. Christians make up about 47% of the region’s population. While Christians have traditionally supported the Congress, Hindus have leaned towards the Bharatiya Janata Party. The roots of right-wing politics here date back to 1972, eight years before the formation of the BJP, when Eknath Ranade of the RSS inaugurated the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari in Comori despite objections from Christians who consider the rock to be their holy site. Over the next decade, several Hindu nadars converted to Christianity. Politically, they support Congress and position themselves as protectors of minorities. The Mandikadu riots between Hindus and Christians in 1982 intensified the rivalry between the BJP and the Congress. The BJP got its first MLA from Kanyakumari in 1996 in Tamil Nadu, C Velayuthan. In 1999, the BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan won a Lok Sabha seat and later became a federal minister. There are historical reasons for Congress to gain prominence here. The Tamil Nadu Congress Party in Travancore, led by Field Marshal Nesamoni, worked to merge Kanyakumari (then with Travancore) into the National Party and merged his party with the Congress in the 1950s, triggering the growth of the National Party. In subsequent polls, both the Congress and the BJP relied on their traditional strengths. Both parties also hope to benefit from the expected effects of the TVK vote split. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in the region on April 15, and Congressman Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to campaign here on April 20. Locally, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers are reaching out to Hindu families, targeting “failed promises” and anti-incumbency. Like in 2021, the Congress will have three seats, relying on its vote bank and secular slogans. It targets the policies of the BJP and AIADMK in public while privately lobbying Christian priests not to support TVK candidates. TVK’s entry makes the competition interesting as it focuses on cross-sector support.