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AIADMK beyond caste and religion, says Palaniswami
Palaniswami's AIADMK appears to have been compelled to reaffirm its secular stance in view of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party which espouses the Hindutva cause.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami, accompanied by senior All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders, on Monday conducted a mass marriage in Coimbatore district for 123 couples belonging to all faiths, a clear attempt by the party to distance itself from the Hindutva ideology of its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“This wedding platform is a testament to the fact that the (AIADMK) party is beyond caste and religion,” Palaniswami said at the event.
Although the AIADMK-led government has conducted mass marriages previously involving couples of different castes and religions, the party’s alliance with the BJP, which espouses the Hindutva cause, appears to have compelled the Tamil Nadu ruling party to reaffirm its secular stance.
“The AIADMK is always on the side of minorities; our friendship is long-lasting which is what the chief minister has been conveying whenever he gets a chance with Muslim or Christian leaders,” AIADMK’s minority wing secretary, Anwhar Raajhaa, said. “We believe that unlike the 2019 parliamentary elections or subsequent civic polls, the minorities will support us as they did in the 2016 assembly elections (AIADMK under Jayalalithaa came to power for the second consecutive term).”
All mainstream Dravidian parties that sprang from Periyar’s (EV Ramasamy) Dravidian movement pitched themselves as rationalist and non-religious parties, which did not believe in rituals, although some amount of religion and rituals has crept in over the decades.
Palaniswami started his election campaign in December from a temple as the National Democratic Alliance’s chief ministerial candidate. On the campaign trail, he is often seen with vermilion on his forehead, although he has worn a skull cap too when addressing Muslim gatherings. He offered prayers at the Nagore Dargah and Vailankanni Church while inspecting cyclone damage in the region in December. A common theme at his campaign rallies is an assertion that minority communities will be safe under his government.
The AIADMK and the BJP joined hands ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and managed to win just one of the 39 seats Tamil Nadu fills in the lower house. They will contest the assembly elections due in April-May as partners.
Incidentally, the BJP state leadership was also in Coimbatore on Monday for an internal preparatory meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Chennai on Sunday, is likely to address a political rally on February 25 in Coimbatore.
The BJP launched a month-long vetrivel yatra (victorious spear march) in November to espouse the cause of Hindus, but political experts said the party failed to connect with local voters.
There is a growing perception in the AIADMK that allying with the BJP could lead to the party alienating secular voters, a constituency carefully cultivated by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa through various social development programmes and non-religion based Dravidian politics.
The votes of Muslims and Christians, according to the 2011 Census, make up about 12% of the total votes in Tamil Nadu.
“Once they (Christians and Muslims) were divided, now they are united on an anti-Modi plank,” said political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy. “Secular Brahmins with a progressive outlook have also joined Christians and Muslims in opinion creation. This, coupled with Tamil nationalism, Dravidian nationalism and leftist ideology influences a major chunk of Hindu voters too. Palaniswami wants to dilute this.”
The CM has been open about the mixed signals his party’s alliance sends out.
Last Thursday, Palaniswami participated at a meeting of the Muslim community in Tirupur district ,seeking the support of Muslim voters and said that “alliances will change because they are formed for politics, but the party will never let go of ideology...No one needs to fear that they will be affected because of our alliances. We will require your support for our governance to continue.”
The AIADMK government has supported the Centre’s laws such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, and the abolition of the Muslim practice of Triple Talaq.
