BJP's Southern Discomfort

Five states. One UT. 130 seats. Crucial numbers these. PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are driving the saffron chariot into the BJP’s last frontier.

- Bhavna Vij-Aurora

The Vindhyas, as the legend goes, grew so high that the moun­tains once obstructed the path of the sun. Sage Agastya, travel­ ling to the south, is believed to have asked the mountains to lower themselves to facilitate his passage. the Vindhyas obliged in reverence. this is a story that BJp leaders love to narrate with the belief that prime minister Narendra Modi is their best bet to emulate the seer and help the party breach the political Vindhyas. But the region that is collectively refe­rred to as south India has proved to be an invincible fortress for the all­conquering saffron army led by Modi. Barring a foothold in Karnataka, the BJp has yet to find the winning for­mula for the five southern states. And it’s a reality the BJp may have to live with after this summer’s general elections.

The south—Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Union territory Pondicherry—account for 130 Lok Sabha seats, nearly a quarter of the total of 545. For any party claiming to represent the nation, it is a huge chunk to ignore. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 21 of them, 17 in Karnataka alone. And it has been looking to double its tally on its own. It is also working at getting allies among the regional parties. But ground reality presents a different picture and the BJP’s target of getting at least 80 seats in the NDA kitty looks difficult with each passing day. It appears more difficult after the BJP lost one of its biggest allies, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in Andhra Pradesh.