Rahul’s self-imposed exile from TN election scene forces Stalin to shoulder campaign burden

In what appears to be a self-imposed exile of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Tamil Nadu poll scene has made the party functionaries and candidates shell shocked but forced Chief Minister and DMK president to shoulder the INDIA Bloc’s campaign burden in this crucial assembly election.

Despite campaigning extensively in Assam, neighbouring Kerala and making an appearance in Puducherry, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who is also the star campaigner, has so far avoided Tamil Nadu. Neither his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is a crowd puller in the state, has stepped in this high-octane campaign. Compare this with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has come here at least thrice while a galaxy of BJP leaders including Union Ministers and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have descended on this poll-bound state to provide heft to the NDA’s electioneering.

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For his part, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is carrying out the party’s campaign single-handedly addressing multiple rallies for his party and for the BJP and other allies. Like Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi and DMK’s woman face, Kanimozhi, he is drawing massive crowds. It is the Congress which doesn’t have a star campaigner thus far.

With Rahul remaining out of the scene, the entire burden of campaigning has fallen on the shoulders of Stalin, who had almost completed a whirlwind tour of the state addressing two election rallies a day. The Congress icon’s absence has given rise to a speculation that all is not well in the relationship between the DMK and the Congress, till now hailed as ideologically united by a strong bond. Even when the seat-sharing deal was sealed when the Congress got 28 seats along with a Rajya Sabha berth, it was rumoured that Rahul was kept out of the loop. For, it was reported that the deal was secured by Congress veteran P Chidambaram and TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai with the concurrence of Sonia Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge who preferred continuation of the alliance with a dependable DMK, rather than risk by teaming up with the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor Vijay.

Though the TNCC chief and AICC in-charge have maintained so far that Rahul would address a joint election rally Stalin and that Priyanka too would campaign for the Congress and the DMK-led alliance, their hopes seem to have vanished into thin air. Even when Rahul addressed a rally in Puducherry and released the party manifesto in the morning, Stalin had his rally in the evening. Then, it was explained that the Congress leader had previously fixed engagements in Kerala as well as the Parliament session which made it difficult to fix a joint rally.

Observers point to the uneasy relationship of Rahul with the DMK chief, recalling his birthday tweet for Stalin which lacked the usual warmth, addressing him as brother, and remained more of a ritual. “Gone are the days of the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign when Rahul jumped across the road to purchase a sweet box and presented it to his brother Stalin. That camaraderie is conspicuously missing,” is the view shared by many. With Stalin and other leaders of the alliance, including Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan, on the field, the DMK alliance is making up for the absence of the Congress icons.