ABP Southern Rising Summit 2023: BRS MLC Kavitha Says I.N.D.I.A Will Crumble After Polls In Five States
BRS MLC K Kavitha said that after the elections in the five states, the I.N.D.I.A might crumble. Discussions may emerge and the results might change the opinions of the parties in I.N.D.I.A.
BRS MLC K Kavitha on Thursday predicted a big fall for the I.N.D.I.A bloc after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She said every party will re-evaluate its stand after the elections in the five states. She said post-poll alliances have worked and run government better historically.
"Leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik, Jagan Mohan Reddy, KCR, who can independently garner many seats, can be a game changer. Not BRS. And I believe after the elections in the five states, the I.N.D.I.A might crumble. Discussions may emerge and the results might change the opinions of the parties in I.N.D.I.A," she said speaking at the ABP Southern Rising Summit.
."Of course, not many parties have a large vote share in NDA, except BJP. So it will stay intact... Post-poll alliances historically have worked. After elections, every party will rethink their strategy and try to increase their bargaining capacity," she added.
Taking a dig at PM Modi's 2019 "56-inch chest" comment, Kavitha said: "When PM Modi came to power, he talked about his 56-inch chest and said 'we will not let anybody enter'. But China is regularly making inroads into India. They even included the names of 23 villages in Arunachal Pradesh in the list for their country. And what is the BJP doing? They are making movies to circulate [the perception] that the government is doing good..."
To this BJP Tamil Nadu president Annamalai replied: "Former Defence Minister AK Antony said in Parliament the best way to contain China is not to develop border villages. As we speak, our PM is in Uttarakhand, a border area, inaugurating projects. They [Congress] said 'allow Chinese to come'. Now, BJP goes to the border. When all the border areas are developed, BJP will look China in the eyes."
People want a decisive government and we should not wait any longer
She alleged that even at the domestic level, the BJP had done nothing. "What has the BJP done for Telangana or Tamil Nadu? Madurai AIIMS has been pending for eight years. Whenever questions are raised, they [BJP] always divert the issue... Diversion politics and polarisation politics worked for some time. But South India will not give in to that," she said.
She asked BJP president Annamalai why the BJP-led Centre awarded national projects to Uttar Pradesh and not to Tamil Nadu or Telangana? "When there is an election and BJP is in power in Karnataka, you give it the Upper Bhadra Project," she said.
She also asked BJP president K Annamalai to come clear on the party's position on southern states losing seats in the next delimitation process. "Will the BJP come clear about the process of delimitation and tell people what effect it will have on the people of Tamil Nadu? Will you tell them that, if implemented, the biggest increase, as expected, will be in Uttar Pradesh, which already has the highest number of MPs in Lok Sabha?"
The 'Hindutva' Debate
Speaking about Hindutva and politics, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said the BJP's version of Hindutva was different from what is practised in the South. "The mistake that BJP makes is they believe since Tamil Nadu is a temple-going state, it will vote for them. On the other hand, the mistake that Dravidian parties make is that they think since it votes for them, Tamil Nadu is not a temple-going state." He said people clearly demarcate their faith from politics. "There is a strong regional and linguistic identity in Tamil Nadu and the BJP tries to push its Hindi-Hindutva agenda. This is why they are rejected," Chidambaram said.
K Kavitha echoed Karti Chidambaram, saying: "BJP is political Hindu and south India has practising Hindus."
Annamalai replied, saying that the BJP in Tamil Nadu is a work in progress. "We are going to alternate ideology to what the Dravidian parties are providing... BJP is a party of Tamil people. We don't come from privileged families." He also said that the
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