Lok Sabha polls: BJP draws a blank as DMK front sweeps Tamil Nadu

PM himself has visited Tamil Nadu at least 8 times in the past four months and held roadshows for the party candidates

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was hoping for a breakthrough in the three-cornered contest in Tamil Nadu against the incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in this election, drew a blank in the Lok Sabha polls.

DMK-led INDIA alliance won all 39 seats, with DMK securing 22 seats, Congress 9, VCK 2, CPI 2, CPI(M) 2, and MDMK 1. This mirrors 2019 Lok Sabha poll results, where the DMK-led alliance won 38 out of the total 39 seats.

While many exit polls had predicted that the BJP may get 1-3 seats in the southern state, the party, which contested 23 seats in this election, couldn't open its account. Annamalai told News18 after the exit poll results that the party is confident of achieving its internal target of 25 percent of votes (or at least crossing 20 percent).

In this election, DMK secured a vote share of 26.9 percent, followed by AIADMK at 20.4 percent, which pushed BJP to 11.2 percent. Congress, which is part of DMK-led alliance, secured 10.6 percent.

Also, read: South India boost for BJP, breakthrough likely in Tamil Nadu & Kerala: News18 exit poll

In 1999 Lok Sabha elections, BJP secured four seats in Tamil Nadu when the party allied with the DMK. However, it failed to win even a single seat in 2019 when the party allied with the AIADMK.

Records show BJP's vote share in Tamil Nadu declined from 5.5 percent in 2014 to 3.6 percent in 2019. In 2019, the party's vote share was lower since it contested in only five seats in the AIADMK alliance. AIADMK, led by former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami, broke its ties with the BJP-led NDA in September 2023.

The BJP was also pinning its hopes on Coimbatore, where its state party chief K Annamalai contested, but he lost by more than 1 lakh votes. Annamalai, who came in second, received 4.5 lakh votes compared to DMK's Ganapathy Rajkumar, who secured 5.6 lakh votes.

Other prominent BJP candidates who lost include former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in Chennai South, Union Minister of State L Murugan in Nilgiris, and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan in Kanyakumari.

In the election, BJP had allied with nine other parties, including Vanniyar caste leader S Ramadoss’s PMK (contesting in ten seats), former Congress leader G K Vasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) in three seats, and AMMK led by former AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran (two seats). The party also supported former chief minister O Panneerselvam, who is contesting as an independent, and other smaller parties in the NDA are contesting under the BJP's lotus symbol. However, none of them could make a mark.

Political observers feel that, had the BJP formed an alliance with the AIADMK, both parties could have performed well in terms of votes and seat share.  However, the split in the opposition voters appears to have helped the DMK reduce the anti-incumbency against the state government. Both the opposition AIADMK and BJP need to change their strategies to defeat the DMK in the assembly polls in 2026.

Also, read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP confident of securing internal target in Tamil Nadu, says K Annamalai

Annamalai factor

BJP was placing its bet on Annamalai, an IPS-turned-politician, in the state. The 39-year-old Annamalai, with his aggressive style, had helped bring the party into the limelight by highlighting corruption issues against the DMK government. Annamalai conducted a six-month padayatra, 'En Mann En Makkal' (My Land, My People), through all the 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

Annamalai, hailing from Karur, decided to contest from Coimbatore, considered the party's stronghold. In 2019, CPI(M) candidate PR Natarajan, who was in the DMK alliance, was elected from the seat with a 45.8 percent vote share, while the BJP's CP Radhakrishnan, part of the AIADMK alliance, received 31.4 percent of the vote share. This time, anticipating a tough fight from the BJP, the DMK chose to contest in Coimbatore and handed the Dindigul Lok Sabha segment to the CPI(M).

Annamalai, a 2011-batch Karnataka cadre IPS officer resigned from service in 2019 and entered politics in 2020. Despite losing the 2021 assembly polls in Aravakurichi, Annamalai was promoted to the post of state party chief that same year. He earned the moniker “Singham (lion)” for his policing style during his decade-long career and his humble beginnings.

Modi’s Tamil pitch

In the recent months, PM Modi was frequently visiting Tamil Nadu, often appears in the traditional attire of veshti (white dhoti) in an attempt to woo Tamil voters.

From hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram in 2019 to quoting Thirukkural at the UN General Assembly, releasing translations of Thirukkural in Japan and Papua New Guinea (PNG), and inaugurating the ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, Modi has always strived to strike a chord with voters in the state and counter the 'Hindi imposition' allegations leveled by the DMK against the BJP.

In May 2023, Modi installed a Sengol, a symbol of Indian independence made in Tamil Nadu, in the new Parliament building.

The PM visited Tamil Nadu at least eight times in the past four months and held multiple roadshows for the party candidates. Modi also raked up the issue of the "ceding" of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974 in his election campaign against the DMK and Congress.

Whenever Modi visits Tamil Nadu, a social media hashtag battle between 'Welcome Modi' and 'Go Back Modi' erupts. While the DMK relies on its populist schemes and cultural identity, the BJP harps on anti-dynasty politics and its fight against corruption.

Also, read: Tamil Nadu Exit Polls 2024: INDIA bloc may sweep the state with over 36 seats