CLASH OF IDEOLOGIES
Ideology is at the heart of the battle for the South. The regional parties belong to the Dravidian ideology that, in essence, brought natives of South India together as an identity.
Unlike the BJP’s Hindu nationalism, which is seen to be about Hinduism or Hindi, Dravidian parties, at different times in history, have preached a nationalism specific to the South in order to protect its culture, languages and interests.
To different degrees, the regional parties have accused first the Congress, and more recently, the BJP, of trying to impose the Hindi language on the South.
A 2019 tweet by India’s Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah of the BJP made the case that it is extremely important for the nation to have one language, and that Hindi is best suited for India’s identity recognition globally.
Mr Annamalai disagreed with the notion, defending Mr Modi as an inclusive leader.
“We don’t believe in one language as a common language. This is only in perception,” he said. “I’d like to correct anybody who is carrying this myth because Modi is a true pan-India leader. This election will put an end to the so-called north-south fault line once and for all.”
BATTLE FOR KERALA SEATS
In the neighbouring state of Kerala, where the BJP has never won a lower house seat, leader of the main opposition Congress party Rahul Gandhi has similar issues with Mr Modi and his party.
“The BJP wants to impose one history, one nation, one language on the people of India,” said Mr Gandhi, who is defending his seat in Wayanad district.
His senior party colleague, Dr Shashi Tharoor, will be facing Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in state capital Trivandrum.
Mr Tharoor said, “We see ourselves as a country of great diversities united in a common nation, whereas the BJP has a Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan ideology, which reduces the majesty of an inclusive faith like Hinduism into intolerance … the South is broadly united against the BJP’s approach.”
Mr Chandrasekhar said: “Despite Tharoor having won three terms, there are ample signs of negligence. For a long time, the voters of South India have been poisoned … The reality is that Modi is the person who is taking economic development, progress and opportunities to every Indian.”
The BJP’s fielding of Mr Chandrasekhar, seen as an attempt to stop Mr Tharoor from winning a fourth time, signifies how strongly the party is trying to make inroads in the South, said observers.
