You provoke PM Modi, you will be in trouble: S Gurumurthy on BJP's 'Mission South'

New Delhi: As campaigning hits a feverish pitch ahead of 2024 elections, noted thinker S. Gurumurthy, reflecting on Tamil Nadu politics, explained how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'South Push' has left the regional satraps "confused and flabbergasted".

Speaking exclusively to NDTV Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia, Gurumurthy said that DMK's politics has run its course and is now facing a fatigue factor. He also spoke about the "void" in Tamil Nadu politics that has set in, after the demise of two legendary figures of the state - J. Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi.

He said that post Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi, both leading parties of the state DMK and AIADMK are meandering as they have lost the vibrancy and mass appeal that existed earlier.

He further said that Dravidian politics was in "deep trouble" today over BJP's Mission South, and PM Modi's repeated visits to the state and promotion of Tamil legacy on the global stage are making them "unnerved".

"Tamil Nadu is perhaps the most Hinduist state in the country, most people do not know that the religious roots of Tamil Nadu are very strong and this got overshadowed by the Dravidian movement during the 1960s. But, the tables have turned today as people are eager to reaffirm their roots. This has left the DMK flabbergasted, it is in a huge ideological confusion. It doesn't know how to tackle BJP and Narendra Modi," he said.

Pointing to "go back Modi" slogans by DMK cadres in 2018, he said that PM Modi is not a person who takes provocations lightly.

"You provoke Modi, you will be in trouble," Gurumurthy told Sanjay Pugalia.

Gurumurthy also said that PM Modi doesn't aim for quick gains, he rather sets long-term goals and thinks decades ahead.

Further shedding light on Dravidian politics, he said, "DMK's policy was too centered around projecting Tamil Nadu in a Dravidian way. Party patriarch Karunanidhi had the skills to articulate all this in a convincing and cogent way, but after him, the party has found it hard to convey the message."

He further said both DMK and AIADMK are family-run parties and have "run short of ideas" in putting forward a progressive vision.