Some parties can't win on their own, but can make others lose

At a public meeting in Salem in Tamil Nadu on March 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose a relatively lesser known politician on the stage to give a pat on the back: Devanathan Yadav who runs a party called Indhiya Makkal Kalvi Munnetra Kazhagam (IMKMK).

Three days later, when BJP announced the party's list of candidates, Yadav's name figured as the candidate for Sivaganga constituency. Parties like IMKMK, B John Pandian's Tamilaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), T R Paarivendhar's Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) and E R Easwaran's Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) have limited influence in some pockets of Tamil Nadu. Yet, big parties want them in their alliance. These parties cannot win if they contest on their own, but they can dampen others' winning chances. The spoiler effect makes these small players big in the larger scheme of alliance politics.

Devanathan Yadav says Yadav voters are spread across several southern constituencies, particularly Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Sivaganga. "In Sivaganga, I will win with a margin of two lakh votes," he says.

BJP has lined up more such smaller parties, almost all of them caste-based. Their candidates contest on BJP's 'lotus' symbol.

IJK's Paarivendhar is contesting in Perambalur Lok Sabha seat for the third time. The party claims its support base (Udayars) extends to neighbouring constituencies such as Trichy and Kallakurichi. In 2019, he contested in Perambalur as a DMK ally and won; later he shifted allegiance to NDA.

Also in demand is Puthiya Needhi Katchi's (PNK). Its founder and Vellore candidate A C Shanmugam is considered one of the strongest candidates of BJP front this time. In 2019 too, Shanmugam gave a tough fight to DMK's Kathir Anand in Vellore.

KMDK, an ally of DMK, is contesting on the latter's 'rising sun' symbol in Namakkal. The party is expected to add to DMK's kitty some Gounder votes from other constituencies in western Tamil Nadu too.


Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search