Fear of women voters' wrath keeps Tamil Nadu parties on the edge

Former Union minister A Raja’s indecent attacks on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his family have brought back focus on the misogynistic political culture in the state, which often leave women voters in total disgust.

During the Tamil Nadu assembly poll campaign, Raja has not only put Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin in a tight spot but also helped the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) double up efforts to reach out to women voters in the last lap before the April 6 voting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too referred to Raja’s comments when he campaigned in Tamil Nadu on March 30, saying that the DMK must control such leaders. He said this only served to remind the women voters not to forget the past events like the ugly episode in the Tamil Nadu assembly on March 25, 1989 when late J Jayalalithaa was attacked by DMK MLAs who allegedly ‘attempted’ to disrobe her.

Of course, Stalin did come to the rescue of Raja, who is deputy general secretary of the DMK, by describing Modi’s remark as a lie and asked all leaders to maintain dignity.

Keeping up the pressure on the DMK, Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised Raja, urging the “mothers and sisters” of the state to not vote for the party in the elections.

Raja’s utterances have got compared to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's ‘maut ka saudagar' comment, which cost the Congress heavily in the Gujarat assembly election in 2007. It also reminded many of ex-Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar’s dig at Modi’s humble origins ahead of the 2014 polls, saying he could sell tea in the AICC headquarters, which was godsend for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign.

Upset by Raja’s dig, Palaniswami, whose managers have been working to project him as the humble farmer’s son who made it to the top, broke down publicly. As Palanisami sought to hike the emotional quotient of his party towards women voters, some DMK leaders have conceded that Raja had blundered and created an adverse impact on women voters.

Raja sought to offer a vague apology, saying he did not intend to defame Palaniswami or his mother, and was only comparing the leadership of Stalin and the Tamil Nadu CM. But Stalin’s half-sister and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi tweeted that political leaders should not indulge in such comments.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) debarred Raja from campaigning for 48 hours. It also removed him from the list of star campaigners for the DMK, which has come as a blow for Stalin.

Focus On Women

The reason why major political parties are concerned about how their messaging is accepted by women is because Tamil Nadu has more women voters than male ones. As per the ECI for 2021, there are a total of 62.6 million voters — 31.8 million women and 30.8 million men.

Modi showed that he understood the importance of women voters in Tamil Nadu when he kept emphasising that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) believes that the progress of the society is not complete without the empowerment of women.

If the AIADMK had barely scraped through in the 2016 polls, even with Jayalalithaa at the helm, it was largely because of women voters who connected with her.

Of course, in her absence, the DMK is perceived to have an edge because it won 38 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

But has it lost out on women voters? It is no surprise that the two main Dravidian parties are wooing them this time with free washing machines, free LPG cylinders and cash doles of ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 for women head of families. This is supposed to be an improvement on the freebies offered earlier when free mixers, grinders and gold mangalsutra were given for marriage.

Even actor Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), who has shunned the culture of freebies, has promised women-tailored initiatives, promising salaries for household work, and employment initiatives to allow women to ‘break glass ceilings’.

Forgotten Promises

Political parties are not always prompt in keeping their promises. The AIADMK forgot its 2016 promise to women voters to close down State-owned TASMAC shops that sell liquor. It had even proposed phased prohibition, neither of which has happened. The party’s promise of ‘Amma banking cards’ was also forgotten.

Also, when it comes to women’s representation among candidates, their percentage is less than 13 percent. The AIADMK, which is fielding 179 candidates, has put up only 14 women nominees. The DMK’s tally is only 12 women out of 173 candidates. The MNM is fielding 154 candidates in Tamil Nadu, of whom 12 are women. Only filmmaker Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi has kept his promise by fielding 50 percent women among the 234 candidates. The Congress has given only one of the 25 tickets to a woman. The BJP, which is contesting 20 seats, has fielded three.