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NDA has announced its candidate for the Vice Presidential election. NDA has announced the name of Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan. After the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, many names were being speculated. But today BJP put an end to all those speculations by announcing Radhakrishnan’s name. In such a situation, the biggest question is why did BJP choose a Vice Presidential candidate from the South?
CP Radhakrishnan’s South connection
CP Radhakrishnan is from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and he comes from the Gounder i.e. OBC community. There are assembly elections here next year. In such a situation, BJP has played a big bet by announcing his name. Actually, BJP wants to establish its foothold in the southern states and wants to start it from Tamil Nadu because there are assembly elections here in April-May next year and BJP has not got decisive success here yet. Radhakrishnan has a long political experience.
He has been a two-time MP from Coimbatore. Apart from this, he has been the Governor of Jharkhand and is currently the Governor of Maharashtra. He has a deep penetration in the Sangh and this is what strengthens the harmony between BJP and Sangh. In recent years, BJP has made a strong effort to increase its presence in South India, especially in Karnataka and Telangana. Karnataka is the only state in South India where BJP has been in power, but its influence has been limited in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This is because its Hindutva ideology clashes with Tamil identity and Dravidian sentiments.
Attempt to gain foothold in Tamil Nadu
BJP has tried to gain foothold through alliance with AIADMK and smaller parties. But it has not got decisive success. In such a situation, the selection of CP Radhakrishnan as the Vice Presidential candidate in Tamil Nadu is an attempt to increase foothold in the South. Since 1967, only DMK and AIADMK have been in power in Tamil Nadu.
BJP gets 8% increase in votes in 5 years
In the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the DMK-Congress alliance performed brilliantly in Tamil Nadu. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP performed better in some seats in Tamil Nadu, but it is much less than DMK and AIADMK. If we talk about vote share, BJP got 11.24 percent votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections while DMK got 26.93% and ADMK got 20.46 percent votes. DMK won 22 seats. BJP’s account was not even opened. Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, DMK got 33.2%, AIADMK got 18.7 while BJP got 3.7 percent votes. Overall, BJP’s vote percentage increased by about 8 percent in 2024. Therefore, BJP has a lot of hopes in the assembly elections to be held next year.
2026 assembly elections are important
DMK won the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections by forming an alliance with Congress, Left parties and smaller parties. The AIADMK formed alliances with parties like the BJP and the PMK, but its performance remained weak after the alliance broke in 2024. Next year’s election is important for Tamil Nadu politics as the DMK will try to retain power, while the AIADMK and the BJP will try their best to make a comeback. However, Tamil identity and Dravidian ideology are a challenge for them.
Southern politics revolves around this
South Indian politics revolves around regional identity, language, caste and development. Parties like the DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu emphasize on Tamil language and culture. Anti-Hindi sentiments have been a challenge for the BJP, especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Castes like Vanniyar, Thevar and Gounder (OBC communities) in Tamil Nadu, Lingayat and Vokkaliga in Karnataka and Kamma and Reddy communities in Andhra Pradesh are influential. Regional parties are adept at managing these caste equations. But national parties like the BJP are gradually increasing their influence.
