Ideological pick or popularity vote, a political conundrum

CHENNAI: Unlike other parts of the country, BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit has always faced strong criticism for its pro-Brahmin or upper-caste support base by the Dravidian parties. But it turned the tables on the DMK and its ally VCK by nominating Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman, as the Presidential candidate.

BJP supporters were trolling DMK for voting for an upper caste candidate – former union minister Yashwant Sinha, a Brahmin – in the Presidential polls on July 18 instead of India’s first tribal woman candidate nominated by the NDA. They even questioned the DMK’s social justice commitment over its choice of the candidate.

VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan was trolled by BJP supporters over his appeal to the opposition parties to nominate a Christian for the forthcoming Presidential polls. “In the 75 years since Independence, no Christian has been elected as the country’s president,” Thirumavalavan said. “Though Christians are the third biggest religious group in the country, they were under-represented in the legislative assembly and Parliament as well.”

BJP State president K Annamalai questioned Thirumavalavan on why he didn’t vote for NDA’s 2012 president candidate PA Sangma, who belonged to the Christian community and voted for upper-caste Pranab Mukherjee. Thirumavalavan retorted that the Presidential poll is a fight against two ideologies and opposition parties including Congress, Left, DMK and VCK are supporting the candidate on the policy basis.