Rise of nepotism in parties like DMK is weakening Left-wing's cause in fight against a 'communal, shrewd' BJP in Tamil Nadu

It has been two months since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the general elections a second time over. How they pulled this off in spite of their fundamentalist far-right ideology is a question posed by many in Tamil Nadu. The answer lies in actions like that of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the past week.
DMK nominated Udhayandhi Stalin as the party youth wing secretary. This is why the BJP won the general election: it was not the tampering of EVMs, the promise of a better India, or the politicisation of the Pulwama terror attacks but the reinforcement of dynasty politics at a time when the country is tired of the widespread nepotism, which turned the tide in BJP's favour.
BJP has understood this aspect of the voter’s mindset. Looking back, BJP made sure that they fielded their toughest, seemingly working-class candidates against Congress’s political heirs. How else did Rahul Gandhi lose in Amethi, which has been the foothold of Congress for decades? It is not difficult to find Smriti Zubin Irani’s biographical videos online. It explains how she grew from a humble background and rose to be one of the topmost leaders in BJP.
 
File image of Udhayandhi Stalin with MK Stalin. News18
Similarly, in Thoothukudi, BJP’s grassroots party worker Tamilisai Soundarrajan, who rose to the position of state president overthrowing the 'most hated' representative of the party  — H Raja, was fielded against Kanimozhi, the daughter of Tamil Nadu’s most-loved patriarch.
Modi’s past as a tea stall owner and the lack of political backgrounds for many top leaders of BJP is well-known. Nirmala Sitaraman’s case, even though she didn’t contest in elections, is a stark example of how BJP plays the caste vs class debate. This is the message that has been doing the rounds since Sitahraman rose to national prominence for her ‘humble’ background - “Nirmala Sitharaman was born into a poor Brahmin family. Her father worked for the Indian Railways. She went on to graduate from JNU college and worked hard to become the first female finance minister of India. She even worked as a sales girl once. On the other hand, look at all the rich candidates of Congress.”

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