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Sting video exposes internal rifts in BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit
The rumblings began last Tuesday when YouTuber Madan Ravichandran, who joined the party last year, released the video of general secretary KT Raghavan. Calling it a sting operation, Ravichandran said that he had gathered similar evidence against 15 others and that new president Annamalai allowed him to release the video.
The sexual video sting tape controversy engulfing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu has exposed fissures between the new entrants and the old guard of the national party. On Thursday, when ousted party worker Madan Ravichandran released audiotapes of purported conversations between him and state president K. Annamalai, the issue escalated, with calls of factionalism within the party and senior leaders’ criticism on how they dealt with the issue, also coming to the fore.
The rumblings began last Tuesday when YouTuber Madan Ravichandran, who joined the party last year, released the video of general secretary KT Raghavan. Calling it a sting operation, Ravichandran said that he had gathered similar evidence against 15 others and that new president Annamalai allowed him to release the video. Almost immediately, Raghavan resigned from his post though he denied the allegations and decided to face it legally.
Annamalai’s clarification also came quickly, confirming that Ravichandran discussed this issue with him, but he had not submitted the video as evidence for it to be probed. BJP also immediately formed an internal committee to probe allegations of sexual misconduct against Raghavan. On the following day, BJP fired Ravichandran. Upset over the developments, he then targeted the new BJP chief by releasing recorded audio conversations between them where Annamalai purportedly is discussing different options of dealing with this issue. One of the options was to engage the leadership in Delhi. Soon hashtags #isupportAnnamalai cropped up on social media, and BJP women leaders began posting videos and tweets defending that the party empowers women.
There is talk about whether this was orchestrated internally due to the factionalism between those backed by the Sangh Parivar, between leaders of Brahmin and other communities. Party members are also wondering if other political parties in the state planted people like Ravichandran. Both Ravichandran and former IPS officer Annamalai joined the party only last year. Both are in their 30s, and the BJP celebrated them as the young voices to take on the Dravidian parties. “The basic problem is undue attention was given to newcomers,” said a state BJP leader who has been in the party for more than two decades and didn’t wish to be identified. “And all the leaders who have worked for the party all these years have been sidelined. And the new leaders have been promoting their communities.”
The BJP is an anomaly in Tamil Nadu when compared to the rest of the country. The national party, which was barely a factor in Tamil Nadu, came into the spotlight only last year with their Vetrivel Yatra and protests on an issue on the Manusmriti. After 20 years, the party entered the assembly winning four seats. For this, the ex BJP president L Murugan had gone on a recruiting spree with several politicians jumping ship. “People like them don’t understand Hindutva. They’re opportunists,” said the leader quoted above. Murugan belonging to the Scheduled Caste community and his predecessor Tamilisai Soundararajan belonging to the Nadar community was the party’s efforts to shed its image of being a party of Hindi speaking upper castes.
Murugan was rewarded for the party’s performance by being made a Union minister of state and paving the way for Annamalai to become chief in July. Annamalai grew quickly within the party given his close association with BJP national secretary B L Santosh which ensured he had support from the top leadership. He was given a ticket to contest in the recently concluded elections, but he was unsuccessful.
Another leader said that the issue should have been dealt with without allowing it to become public. “Will such an incident in the DMK or AIADMK ever come out?” he asked. The scandal comes in the shadow of the BJP issuing a legal notice to Tamil daily over an article that claimed the party had allegedly received several complaints of sexual harassment against its leaders.
Senior leaders continue to deny the article as well as recent events. “There is no factionalism in the BJP,” said a national leader not wishing to be named. “We need to check the background of Ravichandran. And an inquiry has been initiated against Raghavan.” He added that Annamalai and the state leadership had the issue under control and that they have not received any complaints of sexual harassment from women in their party.
EXPERT/OPPN QUOTE
