Eyeing Dalit votes, Mevani arranged Rahul-Ranjith meet
The meeting between Congress national president Rahul Gandhi and director Pa Ranjith in the national capital was not a chance meeting. More than the politics they had discussed, of which the Congress leader and director made no secret, it was the run up to the meeting that had raised many eyebrows even in the Congress party.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-07-12 18:48 GMT
Chennai
Party sources in the know of things revealed that Rahul-Ranjith meeting happened at the behest of Gujarat MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani. Significantly, Ranjith was only the second prominent Dalit face Rahul Gandhi had engaged from Tamil Nadu.
Not long ago, Rahul had held an elaborate discussion with VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan in the national capital, courtesy state Con gress president Su Thirunavukkarasar who had arranged the meeting immediately after the DMK working president hosted TRS chief Chandrasekar Rao and engaged TMC chief Mamata Banerjee for the yet to shape up Third Front.
VCK factor: Even in the meeting with Ranjith and Thirumavalavan, if Congress sources are to be believed, the discussion was mostly on mustering the electoral support of Dalits. The Congress president had, in fact, tasted some success already, thanks to Thirumavalavan who had
proposed Congress as the torchbearer of the secular alliance more than once since his two visits to the Congress headquarters.
Congress sources also admitted that Jignesh Mevani had impressed upon Rahul Gandhi the fact that it was significant to tap the disintegrated Dalit votes in Tamil Nadu.
Pertinently, the Congress would have some difficult maneuvering to do given the competition it faces from the ruling BJP which also attempts to drum up support among Dalits against the Dravidian parties in the state.
BJP national president Amit Shah who had held a few discussions with Dalit leaders during his visits to Tamil Nadu also gained some traction by getting a few fledgling Dalit outfits in southern districts to badmouth about the Dravidian parties
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