BJP puts up a poor show

For all its tall claims of being an alternative to the two main Dravidian parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) show in the Srirangam Assembly by-poll turned out be dismal.

The party, which fiercely attacked the AIADMK and the DMK of being “corrupt” in the run-up to the by-poll, failed to touch the five-figure mark despite claiming the support of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). The party polled a meagre 5,015 votes – an increase over the previous election held in 2011 when it secured more than 2,000 votes.

The party had brought out a manifesto exclusively for the Srirangam by election promising a slew of development works for the constituency if elected. The party’s national and State-level leaders’ brief campaign failed to evoke the response from the Srirangam electorate if the results are any indication.

Compared to the Dravidian parties, the BJP’s campaign at the grass-roots level did not appear to be intensive.

The DMDK founder Vijaykant did not campaign in the by-poll despite being a key partner in the National Democratic Alliance in the State.

A party’s district-level functionary claimed that the money power had an impact on the by-poll.

The DMDK, the member said, did not work intensively for the BJP, he said.

Party’s tally barely crosses 5,000 votes

BJP had brought out a manifesto