All eyes on Amit Shah's possible entry into Lok Sabha :::: But to pull Delimitation-Women Quota Bills win after CJP 'setback'; BJP will need DMK

It's not that DMK has never done good and effective business with the BJP. 

Murasoli Maran was considered a very successful Commerce Minister in the Vajpayee Govt.  They parted ways over POTA on the eve of 2004 parliamentary polls when Jayalalitha misused a legislation meant to fight terrorism to corner leaders like Vaiko.  

All eyes on Home Minister Amit Shah's possible entry into Lok Sabha 

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But to pull Delimitation-Women Quota Bills win after CJP 'setback'; BJP will need DMK  

As part of the outreach, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju last week met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for nearly 50 minutes to discuss the possible reintroduction of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.

Rahul's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with Gaurav Gogoi and KC Venugopal later joined the meeting. According to sources, Rijiju did not receive any commitment from the Congress. The government has also started consulting other opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party and the DMK leadership. 

Tamil leaders, particularly of the Dravidian parties, have a penchant for the hyperbole. There is history behind it. Every Tamil Neta worth his or her salt were given a flattering title. Some titles would also sound intoxicating. M Karunanidhi (M K Stalin's father) was called Kalaignar. It means 'the ultimate artiste'. 

Jayalalitha was called Puratchi Thalavi - meant revolutionary leader. In fact, her mentor MGR too was also 'revolutionary' and the title was Puratchi Thalaivar.  

Over the years the voters in Tamil Nadu were getting bored and angry. They started believing that there was nothing much to choose between DMK and AIADMK. The Congress did not show guts the will to fight both the Dravidian parties. Today, it has pulled out of DMK-led front and is in power under the new chief minister. 

The politics of DMK can be predicted. It will first go with its own interests and on 'ideology' matters will find one excuse or the other to suit own interests. The BJP is doing its own calculation. 

PM Narendra Modi is himself meeting some MPs personally or in groups. 

The Women Bill seeks to operationalise the women's reservation law before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections by increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 after a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.  

The remarks from BJP leaders on and off the record come as the government pushes for the implementation of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which seeks to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for women.

It also proposes increasing the strength of state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate the 33 per cent quota for women. The Govt is ready to bring fresh amendments aimed at addressing concerns raised by southern states over the impact of delimitation.

The BJP floor strategists under AmitShah are learnt to be considering a provision that would increase the existing Lok Sabha seats in every state by 50 per cent, irrespective of population. 

Such a broad agreement will be acceptable to DMK.  

In all these, we are also faced with the bigger dilemma staring at the Congress party. It mishandled DMK in May making the party vulnerable to be won over by the BJP and the NDA.  

Some of the sad stories is Congress own making. 

In the past, the Congress failed to throw up a mass leader both in Tamil Nadu and at the national level to exploit the voters' disillusionment.  

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