Last week saw heightened political activity in Tamil Nadu as Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi flew in to address meetings.

The State goes to the polls on April 24 and at stake are 39 seats.

While Sonia addressed one meeting in southern Tamil Nadu, Modi addressed meetings in Chennai and at a couple of places in the western part of the State, showing the importance the BJP is giving the State.

But more than the meetings, it was the sparring between Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa and Modi that caught everyone by surprise.

Jayalalithaa triggered it at one of her public meetings by criticising the BJP and the Congress for their repeated betrayal of Tamil Nadu’s interests on the Cauvery issue.

Karnataka matters The thrust of her argument was that the two parties had a lot more at stake in Karnataka and hence could not afford to support TN’s cause, while in Tamil Nadu they could never dream of coming to power.

This attack on the BJP happened the day Modi was to launch his campaign in Tamil Nadu at a meeting in Chennai.

Not to be outdone, Modi took a swipe at both the AIADMK and the DMK by accusing them of only taking care of their interests and of pushing the State’s interests to the background through their rivalry.

For the first time, Modi said, a third front had been formed, referring to the umbrella alliance that the BJP has forged in Tamil Nadu.

However, Jayalalithaa was quick to take offence at Modi’s jibe.

Tamil Nadu is far more developed than Gujarat and ahead of it in social indices too, she pointed out. Shortly after this, Modi, in an interview to a television channel, said he had excellent personal equations with Jayalalithaa.

Talks of B-team Now, what does all this mean? The opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, especially the DMK and the Congress, have been attacking Jayalalithaa for her silence in criticising the BJP or the NDA in her speeches.

They have insinuated that the AIADMK is the BJP’s B-team and after the elections it will align with the BJP, if the latter does indeed get to form the government at the Centre.

Jayalalithaa had to prove her critics wrong on this score after a Muslim outfit, Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamath, broke its ties with the AIADMK for failing to criticise the BJP over the anti-minorities aspect in its manifesto.

She could not be seen to be doing anything against the minorities, especially Muslims, who naturally gravitate towards the DMK in the State.

Jayalalithaa and Modi have a good rapport and they have attended the swearing in ceremonies of each other. In that context, the sparring between the two could be mere posturing for the elections. If the BJP needs a few seats to form the government, Jayalalithaa is its more natural ally even though the NDA under Vajpayee fell after 13 months in power when Jayalalithaa withdrew support to it, forcing early elections.

There was also the spectacle of senior ministers flying to Chennai to mollify Jayalalithaa when the AIADMK was part of the Government.

The subsequent Vajpayee Government, of which the DMK was a part, lasted its full term though the DMK walked out of it just before elections were called, sensing a change in people’s mood against the BJP.

Jayalalitha may be Modi’s and the BJP’s natural ally, but the DMK has proved itself a far more reliable partner.

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