SAFFRON PARTY’S SOUTHERN CHALLENGE
Status: The BJP won just one out of 39
Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2014.
Opportunity: AIADMK chief and former
CM J Jayalalithaa’s death created a vacuum in state politics and divided the ruling party. The DMK is dealing with factionalism, and actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth have decided to take the political plunge. Amid the ongoing churning, the BJP senses an opportunity to make inroads in the state.
Challenge: Has no base here and is seen as a ‘Hindi’ party.
Status: Could not win a single seat here in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Opportunity: The BJP made a debut in the state assembly by winning a seat in the 2016 elections. The party is confident of making gains here after it ousted the Left from Tripura. The RSS is also leading an aggressive campaign in the state against attacks on its workers.
Challenges: Influence limited to a couple of seats. Existing allies, such as the BDJS, are upset with the saffron party.
Status: Contested four out of 25 seats in
2014 parliamentary election and won two.
Opportunity: Party feels PM Narendra
Modi’s personal appeal will help improve its performance. An electoral pact with Pawan
Kalyan may help gain new ground.
Challenge: It will be hard to defend against the charge of ‘denying’ special category status to the state, an issue flagged by Andhra’s two major political outfits, the YSR Congress Party and the TDP.
Status: Won 17 out of 27 Lok Sabha seats here in 2014
Opportunity: The Congress-ruled state goes to polls in April-May. BJP hopes to woo the dominant Lingayat community back into its fold by projecting BS Yeddyurappa as its CM candidate.
Challenges: Siddaramaiah is putting up a good fight, and won the bypolls held in 2017 while Yedddyurappa is facing opposition from within the party.