Sanjay Kumar's column: BJP wants to improve its performance in South India

In South India, the BJP is aiming to increase its base. In such a situation, the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry give the BJP an opportunity to register electoral success at different levels. Let us look at the BJP's efforts and prospects on these fronts in the south. In Kerala, there has been a fight between the LDF and the UDF. After every election, power comes and goes to these two coalitions. The 2021 election was an exception, when the LDF returned to power for the second consecutive term. The BJP has made concerted efforts to expand its territory in Kerala. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP's Suresh Gopi opened the party's account by winning the Thrissur seat. Recently, in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 50 wards and fell just one seat short of a majority. The results of the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections show that the BJP is expanding its scope in Kerala. The 2021 Assembly and the recent local elections also point to this. In such a situation, it will be necessary to keep an eye on the BJP in the Kerala Assembly elections. The party has also tried to create a positive atmosphere in its favour by changing the name of the state from 'Kerala' to 'Kerala'. It has been an emotional issue for the people there. In Tamil Nadu, there has traditionally been a two-pole contest between the DMK and the AIADMK. But now Thalapathy Vijay's party 'Tamilga Vetri Kashagam' (TVK) has entered the electoral fray there. At his first major party convention, Vijay described 'secular social justice' as the ideology of TVK. He described the BJP as an ideological enemy and the DMK as a political rival. He has promised that his politics will be free from corruption, with a focus on equality, social justice, women empowerment and caste census-based policies. Here too, the BJP is working hard to make an impact in the elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party was successful in creating an atmosphere, but could not make a presence felt in the results. The BJP's performance in the last assembly elections was not good, but it is hopeful from these elections. In the 2021 election, the BJP contested 20 seats in alliance with the AIADMK and secured 2.6% of the votes. In the 2016, 2011 and 2006 elections, it was able to get less than 3% of the vote. The BJP tried to increase its support base in Tamil Nadu by entering the field both in alliance and alone, but without much success. Now the party is hoping to increase the vote share there and that is why it is campaigning vigorously. BJP state vice-president RN Jayaprakash has alleged that the DMK had made 505 promises in the 2021 election manifesto but fulfilled only 160. This shows that the government failed to keep the promise. Considering this alleged failure as an election opportunity, the BJP is trying to present itself as a credible alternative there and at the same time respond to the allegations of Hindi imposition being levelled against it. The party leaders are talking about Tamil identity more and more in their speeches and emphasising on respect for Tamil language and culture. Here, in Puducherry, which has only 30 seats, the elections held in the past have been quite tricky, as the margin of defeat and victory has been very small. In Puducherry, the NDA (alliance of BJP and NR Congress) will try to save its government. The results of the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections show that the BJP is expanding its scope in Kerala. At the same time, in Tamil Nadu, this time the party is hoping to increase its vote share and that is why it is campaigning vigorously there. (These are the author's own views)