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Time of India
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Caste, corruption and coalition: How elections are fought and won
If Indian politics is a theatre, Tamil Nadu is a multiplex. Where cigarette flicks and dark glasses are the perennial symbols of style and substance, sycophancy does a tandava over psephology. And with the players ensconced in the ministerial thrones in Delhi, it is no longer just a southern delight. Arun Ram, Resident Editor, The Times of India, Tamil Nadu, who alternates between the balcony and the front row, says it incites as much as it excites. During the intervals, he chews on a bit of science and such saner things. LESS ... MORE Most Indian elections centre around three 'C's — caste, corruption and coalition. The Tamil Nadu assembly election of 2026 won't be different. And the winner will be the one who plays the three cards strategically, not always overtly. The two big players – DMK and AIADMK – which have their roots in an ideology that spoke of a casteless society, have been adept at political calculations based on caste. BJP is catching up. PMK and VCK have vanniyars and dalits as their vote base. NTK, the perennial loner, has made inroads into some dalit pockets, but Tamil sub-nationalism remains its core slogan with a limited appeal. DMK has made a head start on the caste front with the recent cabinet shuffle. The removal of V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy was inevitable given the potential harm they posed to the party, and M K Stalin used the opportunity to 'balance' his cabinet ahead of the polls. S S Sivasankar being given the additional charge of electricity was one way of placating vanniyars. S Muthusamy, who gets back the revenue-rich excise portfolio, hails from the gounder community (to which AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and former BJP state president K Annamalai belong) that has considerable electoral say in the western districts. R S Raja Kannappan, a Yadava, has been moved to the forest ministry, making available the dairy ministry for the reinduction of T Mano Thangaraj, who can reach out to Christian Nadar voters in the south. AIADMK, which has been doing a balancing act, with gounders and thevars in leadership roles, too has enough representation from all castes to be fielded in the next election. BJP leader Amit Shah is known for his mastery of what is euphemistically called social engineering. So, it wasn't a surprise that when the party decided to move Annamalai out of the state party chief's post, the first choice became Nainar Nagenthran, an influential thevar and a former AIADMK minister from Tirunelveli. Dalits, who constitute more than 20% of the state's population, haven't been able to consolidate as a political force; what's left after divisions between sub-castes and supporters of different parties have aligned with VCK, making Thol Thirumavalavan a crucial ally of DMK. PMK, which has its prime vote base among vanniyars who constitute around 12% of the population, may not have many options than go with NDA as Thirumavalavan wouldn't be part of an alliance that includes PMK. The internal power struggle between its founder S Ramadoss and his son and party president Anbumani Ramadoss has diminished its bargaining chips. Coming to the next 'C', corruption is an issue that every opposition party loves as a poll plank. Though corruption in govt hasn't reduced, DMK has so far been able to dodge charges against some of its ministers. While the governing party may keep the tainted ministers out of the fray, silently communicating that the cases against them are from their alleged past deals and not during the present tenure, corruption may not become the deciding factor unless Enforcement Directorate succeeds in building a case out of the alleged `1,000-crore Tasmac scam and provide admissible evidence against any of the incumbent ministers. The third 'C' can work as a double-edged sword for major parties, especially DMK. As long as it is an electoral alliance, parties are happy with it; once it becomes a proposal for a coalition govt, worry lines show. In 2021, DMK won 133 of the 173 seats it contested, allowing it to form the govt on its own. If its tally falls below the 118-mark in the 234-assembly in 2026, coalition will cease to be a sweet word for Stalin. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
NDA leaders struggle to choose Visakhapatnam Deputy Mayor candidate amid fierce competition from TDP and JSP
The leaders from the NDA are finding it difficult in selecting a candidate for the position of Deputy Mayor amid strong competition from both the Telugu Desam Party(TDP) and the Jana Sena Party(JSP). No decision has been taken by the NDA leaders till Sunday night, though the election for the position is scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. on Monday (May 19). Sources from the NDA said that already two women corporators from the TDP, including one from the Yadava community, to which the former Mayor belongs, were nominated by the MLAs and other public-elected representatives. Similarly, two corporators from the JSP, including a woman corporator, were proposed by the JSP leaders and they are also in the list of contenders. Corporators from both the TDP and the JSP are confident on their candidate becoming the Deputy Mayor. Serious deliberations are under way among the NDA leaders to finalise a candidate, said a senior corporator from the TDP. Meanwhile, the corporators from the JSP have been exerting strong pressure on the party high command to take steps so that the party candidate becomes the Deputy Mayor. JSP corporator P.L.V.N. Murthy has written a letter to the party chief K. Pawan Kalyan stating that the JSP cadre, supporters as well public have been seeking the Deputy Mayor position for the party candidate. 'During the last standing committee meeting, two no-confidence motions against the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor and also during the Mayor election, the JSP extended strong support to the TDP, without expecting any posts, he wrote in the letter, adding that the JSP has grown its strength in the council from four to 17 seats, including three ex-officio members. Sources from the NDA said that a meeting is going to be conducted on May 19 in a hotel, hours before the Deputy Mayor election. Senior leaders from the TDP, JSP and the BJP will be attending it along with the corporators. The senior leaders are expected to announce the name of the candidate, and also issue the B-form.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation deputy mayor election on May 19
Visakhapatnam: A special (GVMC) council meeting will be held on May 19 to elect a new deputy mayor for Vizag city. The recently succeeded in passing a no-confidence motion against deputy mayor , who belongs to the YSRCP. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The state govt has approved the minutes of the no-confidence motion discussion and officially notified the vacancy. Consequently, it has issued an order to conduct the special meeting for the deputy mayoral election on May 19. Visakhapatnam deputy collector Mayur Ashok will serve as the presiding officer for the election. The NDA has won back-to-back no-confidence motions against both the mayor and the deputy mayor from the YSRCP. The mayoral post was given to a TDP corporator, and Peela Srinivasa Rao was elected as mayor about two weeks ago. Now, regarding the , some corporators from the are also vying for the position. They recently wrote a letter to party chief Pawan Kalyan, explaining Jana Sena's "crucial role" in garnering support for the no-confidence motions and securing NDA's victories in both cases. In the letter, they argued that Jana Sena fully deserves the deputy mayor post and urged Pawan Kalyan to make an appropriate decision. From a caste representation perspective, the deputy mayor post is expected to go to a member of the Yadava community, as the recently ousted mayor also belonged to that community. This move is seen as a way to compensate or pacify the community.
Hans India
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Suspense over new deputy mayor continues brew
Visakhapatnam: Suspense continues to brew over electing Deputy Mayor of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in Visakhapatnam. After winning no trust motion against Mayor and Deputy Mayor recently, the alliance elected Peela Srinivasa Rao as the Mayor. However, whether the Deputy Mayor post will be given to BJP or JSP is yet to be confirmed. To discuss about the issue, Mayor P Srinivasa Rao, a team of MLAs, including Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, Palla Srinivasa Rao, Vamsi Krishna Srinivas Yadav and P Vishnu Kumar Raju and VMRDA chairperson MV Pranav Gopal met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to discuss the candidate. Even as a special meeting is scheduled on May 19 at the GVMC to elect the new Deputy Mayor, the candidate is likely to be announced in a day or two. However, there seems to be evident competition from the TDP, BJP and JSP for the Deputy Mayor's post. With the Mayor's post given to the TDP, a large scope of allocating the Deputy Mayor seat either for JSP or BJP candidate. Also, caste equations are going to play a major role in selecting the candidate. According to a senior leader, the seat is likely to be given to a candidate belonging to either Yadava, Kapu community or BC woman. However, as there are candidates belonging to these communities in TDP, JSP and BJP, selecting the right person has become a challenging task for the alliance high command.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vizag Deputy Mayor election to be held on May 19
The Deputy Mayor election to the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) council will be held on May 19, as finalised by District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad, on Tuesday. The development comes following the NDA's win in the no-confidence motion against Deputy Mayor Jiyyani Sridhar of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) last month. Serious deliberations are under way among the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) leaders regarding the selection of a suitable candidate for the position. With just five days remaining, the NDA alliance is yet to finalise a name, as multiple recommendations and caste considerations are being taken into consideration. According to the sources, a TDP corporator from Gajuwaka has emerged as a leading contender, following good backing from a senior TDP leader. Another senior TDP leader has proposed nominating a woman corporator from the Yadava community, in an effort to balance representation following the removal of the former Mayor, who belonged to the same community. Additionally, another TDP leader has urged the leadership to consider a candidate from Bheemunipatnam. On the JSP front, a party leader has reportedly recommended two names to the high command, requesting that one of them be considered for the Deputy Mayor position. However, internal conflicts reportedly surfaced within the JSP, as several leaders expressed resistance to nominate a former YSRCP member who recently joined the party. Instead, two JSP members, who have been with the party since its inception, are being strongly considered for the role. Besides, all this, the JSP has been strongly requesting the NDA leaders to consider them for the position. 'The Deputy Mayor post should be allotted to the JSP. The party played a crucial role in the recently held no-confidence motions. At present, we have 14 corporators and three ex-officio members. If the position is given to a JSP candidate, it would serve as a significant morale boost for our cadre within the corporation limits,' said a senior JSP corporator from the city. While some TDP leaders have indicated that the second Deputy Mayor post, which will be vacant in July will be definitely offered to the JSP, members of the JSP are firmly pushing for the first Deputy Mayor post. 'The term of the second Deputy Mayor will end in July. After the no-confidence motion and subsequent election, the position will have less than five months left. It would not serve much purpose,' a JSP leader said. Council meet likely on May 23 The GVMC is likely to organise its next council meeting on May 23. This will be the first council meeting after the NDA government taking over the council. The authorities are making arrangements in this regard. The proposals for the meeting and further arrangements are being made. Several NDA leaders have expressed that the government should consider appointing a GVMC commissioner at least before the council meeting. eom
