Tamil Nadu politics to witness new strategies

As usual, Tamil Nadu is going to witness high drama and excitement which has been a constant feature of politics in the poll-bound Dravidian domain. Till December, it was actor Rajnikanth who had provided theatrics to the political scenario in the southern State.

His entry into politics and his abrupt exit were equally dramatic. But still, people of Tamil Nadu will not miss the filmi touch as Kamal Hassan will be there to give that cinematic effect. But still, the main battle is going to be between the AIADMK and the DMK. Jailed leader V K Sasikala, soon after her release from the prison, chose not to speak about her nephew Dinakaran's party AMMK.

She used a car with AIADMK flag on her first visit to Chennai and on the birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa on February 24 she appealed to Jaya's supporters to come together and fight against DMK. A few days later, she announced that she was quitting politics. But do not be under the mistaken impression that she has quit politics for ever. One should try to see what happened behind the scene and what made her make this strategic move.

It is nothing but wait and watch strategy and a lot of groundwork was apparently done by the BJP top leadership. The BJP did not want that the ruling AIADMK does not suffer any disadvantage in the elections. It thought that if she was allowed to remain in active politics, it would badly damage the image of AIADMK and the alliance between AIADMK and NDA would not be possible.

The BJP which is making desperate but calculated move to strengthen its position in the southern States reportedly convinced her to announce her withdrawal from politics. This is just her opening move. This strategic retreat will help her come out of the shadow of Jayalalithaa. If AIADMK loses power which appears to be more or less certain, she will be back with bang. Though there is a six-year ban on her due to the disproportionate assets case from contesting elections, she would come up in her new avatar and try to become the Chief Minister after the next elections.

A Chief Minister's seat at 72 years is a normal deal. At this point of time, Sasikala may be seen as a corrupt leader but even the Puratchi Thalaivi Jayalalithaa too faced such charges and was also jailed. But she became the Chief Minister in 2016. If Edappadi K Palaniswami returns to power, then it would be difficult to displace him in near future. One interesting factor in Tamil Nadu this time is personality politics which used to play the main role will be replaced with politics of performance, promises and free gifts as neither Jayalalithaa nor Karunanidhi are alive.