A lot is being talked about a strong anti-Hindutva narrative of DMK politics. Smriti Irani says the political scenario has changed so much in Amethi that in 2023 people are not talking about who will be the Congress dynasty's candidate for the well known UP seat.
People are rather asking, whether she or anyone else from the BJP will contest from Amethi.
In a thought provoking question, Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs Ms Irani was quizzed by Arnab Goswami, "Kya aap ko lagta hae Rahul Gandhi wapas Amethi loutengey".
Ms Irani responded, "In 2014 and 2019 ..... no one thought that a question like this could be asked in 2023. People and political pandits believed that from Amethi, only one or two individuals or members from a particular family can win. Now the scene is changed, no one is saying which Gandhi will contest from Amethi; now the question is who will contest from the BJP". Well, let us leave the Amethi debate at that stage as of now !
In 2023 a more emphatic question could be why is Congress accommodating such anti-Hindutva (anti-Sanatan Dharm) remarks from DMK leaders. The grand old party has not disapproved or never reprimanded M K Stalin and his party for such remarks. While there have been attempts for 'denial' or dissociation from such statements, Priyank Kharge almost echoed the voice of Stalin's son.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin had come under severe criticism for stating that Sanatan Dharma should not merely be opposed but eradicated. The episode even provoked mild rejection of the statement by a key opposition leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had said -- the people should not comment on anything that may hurt the religious sentiments of the people. Cautious of Hindu votes despite her well known Muslim appeasement politics, she also said, she respects Sanatan Dharma.
"Any religion that does not promote equality and does not ensure that you have the dignity of being a human being is not a religion, according to me," Priyank Kharge had remarked. Junior Kharge is son of AICC president and also Karnataka IT Minister. However, the bigger issue is Rahul Gandhi's special outreach to DMK. Some sections of BJP in Tamil Nadu feel the saffron party should gear up for a keen contest in Kanyakumari as the Congress could find the constituency 'preferable for their leader Rahul Gandhi'. Reasons for Kanyakumari are not difficult to gauge.
Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, the largest population being Kanyakumari (46% of the population) followed by Thoothukudi (16.68%).
According to Christian beliefs, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in 52 AD, and built St. Mary's Church in Thiruvithamcode, Kanyakumari district in 63 AD. During the colonial period, a large number of Italian, British, Dutch and Portuguese Christians also came to Tamil Nadu. Let us take a closer look politically.
In 2009, J. Helen Davidson won the Lok Sabha polls as a DMK nominee. In 2014, BJP's Pon. Radhakrishnan could make it but Congress won the seat in 2019 (H. Vasanthakumar) and Vijay Vasanth also of Congress won the seat in the 2021 by-election. In 2021 by-polls, Congress nominee Vijay Vasanth polled 576,037 votes making it 52.50 percent and there was drop of 7.37 percent of votes. BJP's Pon. Radhakrishnan, a former Union Minister, had polled 438,087 votes making it 39.92 percent of voteshare and there was increase in votes for the saffron party by 4.92 percent.
Rahul Gandhi had shifted to Wayanad in 2019 in the wake of stiff fight put on in Amethi by BJP's vocal minister Smriti Irani. In terms of relgionwise population breakup, Wayanad district has 49.48 percent Hindus and a substantial number of them could be strictly anti-BJP and pro-communists. In 2019 polls they must have voted in favour of Rahul. After Hindus, Muslims form about 28.65 percent of population in Wayanad and they are followed by 21.34 percent Christians.
The BJP sources claim, the saffron party is gearing up for a good battle in Wayanad and this might have forced a section in the Rahul camp explore the possibilities of Kanyakumari.
In Kanyakumari, there is an overwhelming Christian population and this section is expected to vote for Congress only and they could be doing so all the more easily if Rahul Gandhi is the Congress nominee.
Hindus make 48.65 percent of population in Kanyakumari district followed by as high as 46.85 percentage of Christians and only a slender 4.20 percent of Muslims. So in terms of permutation and combination, a section of Congress election strategists say winning Kanyakumari will have higher probability for Rahul than even Wayanad. Some even say, while Rahul can leave Amethi to someone else; he could contest from both the seats in southern India - Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari and Wayanad in communist-ruled Kerala.
Do not forget, the Bharat Jodo Yatra for Rahul Gandhi was launched jointly by Rahul and Tamil Nadu chief minister M. K. Stalin on September 7, 2022.
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