Though the electoral field for the May 16 elections is near identical in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, with the All India N.R. Congress being the oddity here, political leaders find it expedient to shape-shift the rhetoric when they hit the campaign trail in the Union Territory.
When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who is the general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and M. Karunanidhi, president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, addressed election rallies here last week to endorse their respective candidates, what they chose to remain silent on was as eloquent as what was said.
Both leaders, who have been talking up the prohibition cause in Tamil Nadu, gave the issue the go-by here. (Only the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi have flagged prohibition in their manifesto for Puducherry.)
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Their silence on what ostensibly is a signature theme in their manifestos is hardly surprising given that the advocacy of prohibition is a taboo topic in this former French enclave.
The only attempt in this direction dates back to the late 1970s, when Morarji Desai, known for his staunch views on temperance, was Prime Minister, the government run by the AIADMK, headed by M.G. Ramachandran, clamped prohibition in the Union Territory.
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The public outcry and widespread protests that followed culminated in the lifting of the ban. When the 1980 elections came along, an unforgiving electorate made sure that the AIADMK drew a blank in all 17 constituencies it contested.
The AIADMK’s support base would experience more temblors when MGR once suggested merging Puducherry with Tamil Nadu — the one other issue that gets the electorate worked up.
That the AIADMK still struggles with this ghoul from the past was evident recently when P. Kannan, the estranged Congress warhorse who has moved to the AIADMK camp, had to convene a press meet to quash “false propaganda” that an AIADMK win would result in a merger with Tamil Nadu.
The clarion call that could dominate the 2016 campaign could be the Statehood demand, which was the poll plank of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
There is, however, no unanimity on this issue with some parties, including the Congress, advocating special status, which enlarges the platter of Central grants, over Statehood.
Remarkably, the Statehood issue never got any play during the campaigning in 2011 when the Congress-DMK-PMK-VCK alliance locked horns with the AINRC-AIADMK combine.
Congress stanceIn her 2011 campaign, Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, fed into the underlying notion that the interests of the Union Territory were best served by voting for a national party, making the case that there would “be better coordination and synergy in implementation of welfare and development schemes”, while Rahul Gandhi promised a government that would “put Puducherry on the world map” if the people voted in the Congress-led coalition.
Regional parties tend to flag national issues (and institutions) as in election time, the Union Territory stands as a symbol of the Centre. In the 2011 campaign, Mr. Karunanidhi mounted an attack on the Election Commission for alleged partisanship and interference, while Ms. Jayalalithaa aimed potshots at the Congress government for deterioration of law and order and the UPA for ruinous economic policies.
In an alliance with the AINRC at that time, Ms. Jayalalithaa not only appealed for the combine but also pitched for N. Rangasamy as Chief Minister. However, after the AINRC-AIADMK combine romped home, Mr. Rangasamy ignored the ally and formed a government with the support of an Independent.
This year, payback was surely on her mind as Ms. Jayalalithaa arrived for a rally. Not only did she tear into Mr. Rangasamy for the act of betrayal she also stole a march on her bête noire by promising to work for special status Statehood.