Left parties in Tamil Nadu looking to rejuvenate in 2014

Picture for representational purpose only.

Chennai: ‘Enroll the young’ is the new mantra of the Communist parties in Tamil Nadu for 2014.

After the Che Guevera T-shirts and Facebook campaigns, comrades here have decided to increase the membership of young men and women in their party to succeed in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and also to change their ‘peasant-class’ identity into a vibrant young party in the state and national political podiums.

Senior leaders in CPI and CPM told DC that they have initiated a head count of young people in their party and charted plans to improve the numbers.

Raising their voices on gender issues, price rise and the economic policies of the Union government, both the Left parties supported several initiatives by the State government in Tamil Nadu, thereby strengthening their alliance with the AIADMK for the 2014 poll.

Organising innumerable protests on issues like untouchability, mismanagement in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and drought relief for delta farmers, CPM party men collected Rs.14 lakh as relief fund for the dalits in Dharmapuri, whose houses and property were vandalised in a mob attack by PMK men in late 2012.

Apart from this, the CPM filed a public interest litigation and ensured that the dalits were given Rs 7 crores for rehabilitation.

As several honour killings were reported, both the parties conducted mass awareness programmes, encouraging inter caste marriages.

Known for their integrity and simplicity, the Left parties brought out irregularities at grassroot-level government offices, which once again strengthened their anti-corruption plank.

It is generally alleged that money power plays a dominant role in ascending in other political parties.

But there are scores of examples of commonest comrades being able to get party tickets for elections to the state assembly and Parliament from the Left parties.

There are many examples – Leema Rose, a brick kiln worker, who won in the Thiruvattar constituency in 2006, carried out her work sincerely as an MLA. 

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BJP hopes to ride Modi wave to Parliament from Tamil Nadu

Narerndra Modi was a failry frequent visitor to Tamil Nadu in 2013. Here he is seen in conversation with political strategist and journalist ‘Cho’?Ramaswamy. — DC

Chennai: The BJP appears to be no longer an outcaste in Tamil Nadu politics and with the increase in its stock, the saffron party need not have the sinking feeling of going solo in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Despite lacking the traditional vote bank, compared to the major Dravidian parties that have created these over the years, the BJP here hopes to ride on the Modi wave to Parliament from here.

As the party steps into 2014, it cannot forget the shock over the killing of two of its leaders within a year, including state general secretary V. Ramesh.

It hopes to make it to the national capital thanks to its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who set the ball rolling by addressing a massive conference at Tiruchy.

The party is confident of winning a good number of seats on its own, and also with the help of the PMK, which could help in garnering Vanniyar votes, and the MDMK, too, by whipping up Tamil sentiments.

Another significant player, actor-politician Vijayakanth, is likely to join the BJP camp soon, says a senior leader in the party.

The southern states could help the party reach the magic number of 272+ seats that it requires on its own, and the alliance that it cobbles together would ensure the formation of the government after the general elections in 2014, feels the think-tank in the party.

The BJP believes that it can reclaim its footprints in the region and even expand through its allies.

It hopes to win more numbers in addition to Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Tirupur and the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituencies that the BJP had won in the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha polls.

Presently, the rank and file of the party is going from village to village, highlighting Modi’s achievements, Congress misrule, need for a regime change at the Centre, besides popularising the lotus symbol, through its novel campaign: Veeduthorum Modi, Ullamthorum Thamarai (Modi in every household and lotus in every heart).

Through this padayatra, targeting to cover about 12,618 village panchayats, the party hopes to get closer to people, especially the rural voters, in the state with the hope of a breakthrough in the state. Saffron party, once an also-ran in the state, is no more a political outcaste.

Next: ‘Modi in every household, Lotus in every heart’ claims saffron brigade

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Make or break match for hosts Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Positivity is the need of the hour. “It’s a do or die situation,” was what both W.V. Raman (Tamil Nadu coach) and Ashok Malhotra (Bengal coach) uttered on the eve of their final Ranji Trophy match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

The hosts have everything in place for them — the pitch, conditions, and even the former coach of Bengal, Raman, in their ranks to aid their cause. It’s a matter of the players joining forces to deliver the knock-out punch against a rejuvenated Bengal side.

Bengal, a young team under the inspired leadership of Laxmi Ratan Shukla, have hit their straps just in the nick of time. An outright win against Uttar Pradesh in their last outing has given them a chance to make it to the final eight.

With the track expected to assist spinners, Malhotra was keen on playing an extra-spinner in left-armer Iresh Saxena alongside offie Saurasish Lahiri. The all-round abilities of Arnab Nandi, an off-spinner and a right-hand batsman, is expected to lend support to the other two spinners.

Pacer Ashok Dinda, who routed the UP batsmen with 7/82 in the last game, looked chirpy during the practice session and would have definitely taken a cue from Rajasthan pacer Pankaj Singh, who is a hit-the-deck sort of pacer, on how to go about on this wicket.

Shukla has been in great form with scores of 117 and 95* in the last two outings. While Bengal expect their experienced batsman Shukla to nurture their young top-order — Gitimoy Basu, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Chatterjee — to a huge total, TN would hope the law of averages catches up with the 32-year-old all-rounder.

Raman as usual didn’t disclose the playing combination of his side for the crucial tie and kept his options open. One would assume that the tried and tested combo of offie R. Malolan, left-arm tweakers — R. Aushik Srinivas and Rahil S. Shah — is likely to continue. As far as the pace department is concerned and going by the trend this season, skipper L. Balaji is the only certainty.

All the pacers in the squad — J. Kaushik, M. Mohammed and A. Aswin Crist — have played in patches underlining the team’s horses for courses formula. Will the all-round capabilities of Vijay Shankar, which weren’t fully extracted by the home side against Rajasthan, be utilised in this game? If he is not going to be used as a bowler, then Vijay Shankar can make way for B. Indrajith, a middle-order batsman who scored a fluent 38 in TN’s victory against Baroda.

Irrespective of whoever gets the nod for the middle-oder spot the ‘fabled top-order’ has to set the ball rolling if TN are to harbour any hopes of making it to the knock-out phase. They failed to rise to the occasion to rack up a big score against Rajasthan. Left-handed middle-order batsman R. Prasanna had been the lone man fighting it out every time the team is under the cosh.

TN would do well not just to remember the sundries they had conceded against Rajasthan but they must also try to curb them. Expect nothing but sheer aggressive brand of cricket from either sides as a draw would spell doom for both outfits.

Squad: Tamil Nadu: L. Balaji (c), S. Badrinath, Abhinav Mukund, B. Aparajith, R. Prasanna, Dinesh Karthik (wk), K.B. Arun Karthik, B. Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, Malolan Rangarajan, R. Aushik Srinivas, A. Aswin Crist, J. Kaushik, Rahil S Shah

Bengal: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (c), Gitimoy Basu (wk), Saurasish Lahiri, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Jitendra Shaw, Koshik Ghosh, Writtick Chatterjee, Subhomoy Das, Ashok Dinda, Sudip Chatterjee, Iresh Saxena, Arnab Nandi.

Umpires: Anil Kumar Chaudhary and Ulhas Vitthalrao Gandhe
Match referee: Balbir Singh
Play commences at 9.30am on the first three days and at 9.15am on the last day.

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Suspect in Tamil Nadu BJP leader's killing murdered

Salem: A 37-year-old history-sheeter, questioned by police recently in connection with the murder of BJP Tamil Nadu General Secretary V Ramesh, was hacked to death by an unidentified gang here, police said on Friday.

Shajahan was standing on a road last night when the gang attacked him with sharp-edged weapons, killing him on the spot, they said. Several cases, including three murder cases, were pending against him, police said adding they suspected gang rivalry behind his killing.

He was arrested by CB-CID police in August last for allegedly possessing deadly weapons. Later, the Special Investigation Division probing the killing of Ramesh interrogated him for his suspected role in the crime after which he was lodged in the central prison here. Shajahan was later released on bail by a local court.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ordered a probe into the murder of Ramesh and leaders of Sangh parivar units in the state following demands by the BJP, which alleged its leaders were being targeted in the state.

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