In spite of intensive campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its super star, host of Union Cabinet Ministers and party’s all India president Amit Shah, the BJP failed to make any impact in the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. The party not only failed to win at least a single seat but it also saw the State president Tamilissai Sounderarajan, vice president Vanati Srinivasan and national secretary H Raja biting the dust in the election.
The claim by party’s national secretary P Muraleedhar Rao who is in charge of the Tamil Nadu BJP that the party would emerge as an effective alternative to the Dravidian parties was proved hollow as the BJP failed to score more than 2.7 per cent of the total votes.
Many senior activists of the party including SV Sekhar had requested the Prime Minister Modi and party president Shah not to campaign in Tamil Nadu as the State leaders had failed to strengthen and rejuvenate the party during the last two years. The Tamil Nadu BJP failed to build on the infrastructure offered by Narendra Modi in the form of able leadership. “The Tamil Nadu BJP leaders failed miserably to convince the people of the State the good work done by the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre during the last two years. The present leaders of Tamil Nadu are incapable of strengthening and developing the party,” said TS Sankaranarayanan, a Madurai based leader.
He also pointed out that the BJP could not win a single seat from Kanyakumari district which had elected Pon Radhakrishnan during the 2014 lok Sabha election. “This shows Radhakrishnan had failed to convince the voters in the district about the development works launched by the Modi government,” said Sankaranarayanan.
Another leader, who did not want to be named, said Muraleedhar Rao’s claim that the BJP had enrolled 50 lakh members during the last one year has been fopuynd to be a lie. “If the party had enrolled 50 lakh members, it would have got at least 40 lakh votes in the election. Going by the data released by the election Commission, I do not think the BJP had got the 8.19 lakh votes it polled in the 2011 assembly election,” he said.
Sankaranarayanan and Kattumannarkoil Kannan, another national level leader of the party said that the present leaders of the State unit should make way for capable persons. “The Tamil Nadu BJP needs a drastic revamping as well as restructuring. Those who failed to perform should be ousted from the Tamil Nadu BJP headquarters. Otherwise, the BJP will end up as a non entity in the State by the time for next lok Sabha election,” said Kannan. He said the party’s alliance with IJK and MKIJK, two caste outfits, shocked the friends of the BJP as both were tainted outfits.