"Naming Tamilian Not Pro-Tamil Nadu": MK Stalin's Party On BJP's Veep Pick

The NDA naming a Tamilian, CP Radhakrishnan, as Vice Presidential candidate  is "not pro-Tamil Nadu", said DMK's TKS Elangovan today. The NDA move announced this evening by BJP chief JP Nadda, is seen as a significant political messaging for the southern state dominated by Dravidian politics. 

The BJP has so far been unable to carve out a niche there - unlike in Kerala and its southern bastion Karnataka.     

"Projecting a Tamilian is not pro-Tamil Nadu.  Otherwise, the BJP is against Tamil Nadu.  They are not giving proper funds," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. "Even for education, they are not giving funds. For everything, they are not supporting Tamil Nadu in all terms. Even in terms of funding, they are not giving anything to Tamil Nadu," he said. 

The BJP, he said, "do not want Tamil Nadu to prosper".

The BJP's move to introduce a three-language curriculum has put the party in a particularly dubious position in Tamil Nadu, where the ruling DMK is spearheading the agitation against what it calls "Hindi imposition". 

It is expected that while the nomination of CP Radhakrishnan - the party's tallest leader in the state - will contribute to an image makeover among the people, it is also expected to help with the BJP's on-again off-again ally AIADMK, after their bad break-up.

Calling it a "strategic and a clever move", AIADMK's Kovai Sathyan said it "shows the inclusive attitude of BJP".

Asked if the matter will change electoral realities in Tamil Nadu, Mr Sathyan said this could be called "another way of giving a checkmate to those people who try to play the part of divisive politics, peddling fake narratives and fake news peddlers from the DMK".

While announcing Mr Radhakrishnan's name this evening, Mr Nadda said they would talk to the Opposition  about the possibility of him being a consensus candidate. 

Asked if DMK would support the NDA choice, Mr Elangovan flatly refused.

"As the INDIA Alliance has their own choices, they are going to sit and work on a candidate. We have to go with the alliance," he said.