Karnataka netas power Congress, BJP push in Tamil Nadu elections

Bengaluru: With less than 48 hours left for polling booths to open in Tamil Nadu, BJP and Congress have intensified their campaigns, deploying functionaries and resources to support their allies in a high-stakes contest dominated by DMK and AIADMK. Facing a limited cadre base in Tamil Nadu, both national parties have leaned heavily on their Karnataka units.Although both parties are junior allies in Tamil Nadu, they have gone all out to sway voters in constituencies they are contesting while also strengthening their alliances on the ground.Congress deployed some 50 functionaries, including deputy CM DK Shivakumar and several ministers, while BJP sent about 30 functionaries, including opposition leader R Ashoka. Many of them were assigned to constituencies with sizeable Kannada-speaking populations such as Thalli, Hosur, Dharmapuri and Salem."Some members who are versatile in Hindi campaigned among smaller vote banks like Gujaratis, Rajasthanis and even Marathas in Thanjavur, who claim to be descendants of Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj," said a Karnataka BJP functionary.Congress adopted a similar approach, deploying functionaries who could engage with smaller communities and coordinate rallies for national functionaries.DK Suresh, Shivakumar's brother, has been in Tamil Nadu for the past 15 days overseeing campaign coordination with local functionaries. "While a majority have been deployed as observers, people like Suresh have been given charge of certain constituencies to ensure the victory of Congress candidates," said a functionary.Some functionaries though described the large-scale deployment as a "customary" exercise aimed at giving Karnataka politicians exposure to work in other states."While all this may be true, the fact remains that both Congress and BJP members had little to do back home and so were deployed to help parties in TN. Had there been political action in the state, none would have gone to TN," said a Congress functionary.But labour minister Santosh Lad defended the move, saying it offered "valuable" exposure. "The aim was to give us an understanding of how elections are held in that state," said Lad. "It helped us connect with our counterparts, many of whom have Karnataka and Bengaluru connections. It was a learning experience, while we too imparted some of our ideas to our workers and functionaries in TN."BJP's Chaluvadi Narayanaswamy, opposition leader in the legislative council, echoed similar views. "It is natural for functionaries from adjoining states to help each other. This is an advantage which national parties have," he said. "Also, many functionaries from Bengaluru are versatile in at least two or more languages including Tamil. For BJP, the aim was to ensure no effort is spared to ensure victory of our NDA candidates."