I-PAC doubters in DMK silenced post Kejriwal’s convincing win

Photograph of the analyst and victorious Delhi Chief Minister celebrating the victory, which was posted on social media, seem to have served its purpose. Reports about the successful work of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), especially its advice to Kejriwal to avoid responding to the negative campaign of the ruling BJP, has kept the old school politicians of the DMK thinking. With pundits crediting the analyst for the Delhi Chief Minister cleverly sidestepping Shaheen Bagh protests and publicly imitating the Hindutva rhetoric of the mighty BJP, skeptic seniors in the DMK have slowly started believing in the political wisdom of Prashant Kishor and Co.

Audible murmurs are already heard about PK’s role in DMK of late countering the anti-Hindu narrative built against it by the BJP backed right-wing constituency in the state. Though the party has been going soft on religious matters and donning a Hindu-friendly role ever since MK Stalin took over the reins from his father M Karunanidhi, the recent pro-Hindu statements of some of its leaders, including the likes of Stalin and Kanimozhi were attributed to I-PAC.

As if Stalin and Kanimozhi’s clarification on the party being Hindu-friendly were not enough, even smaller players like party Mannargudi MLA TRB Raja, son of the DMK Parliamentary party leader TR Baalu, had posted pictures of his temple visits and reasoned that the DMK was not against any faith. Raja who posted a video of his dancing with kavadi along with other Murugan devotees had even responded to a critique of the same and said that he has been like this even during the days of MK (Karunanidhi).

“I have been very open about my beliefs. It is juvenile to think of this as planted,” Raja tweeted, before adding that the PK thingy was bound to drag skepticism and send many tongues wagging. “Questions like what is the IT wing for? DMK is decades old party, why don’t you trust the cadre etc are on expected lines. Point is #election is more like war all is fair,” he added.

Professor Ramu Manivannan, head of department of political science, Madras University argued; “I don’t think it’s due to the poll analyst. DMK has been doing it for almost three years now, after Stalin took over. Right wing opposition is deliberately spreading an anti-Hindu narrative against the party. DMK has the need to clarify. The party, like most other parties, has only been allotting tickets during election on caste and religious basis. So, one cannot even say the party is for or against a particular religion.”