An India poll dominated by scandals

Lily

B.R
Staff member
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Chennai: April in Tamil Nadu is not the most pleasant of times in the year, as temperatures soar well over the 40 degree Celsius mark.

This year, the heat appears several notches higher, with the State Assembly elections pitching the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has the Congress as its main ally, against the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has a clutch of parties in its coalition.

It is a battle of the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu as always, but this time the Congress has played a more significant role than usual: It first demanded and got 63 seats to contest, out of the total 234 assembly constituencies in the state. It now hopes to continue to call the shots as the 2G spectrum scam continues to have the DMK in a knot.

The key poll issues this time have unmistakably been the 2G spectrum scam, and the freebies announced by both fronts.

Embarrassment

DMK's former federal minister A. Raja, who has been accused in the spectrum scam, continues to be in prison, which is a matter of embarrassment for the DMK and a contentious issue in its relations with the Congress, both at the federal and state levels.

The AIADMK, led by former chief minister J. Jayalalitha, has been capitalising on the spectrum issue, painting the DMK-Congress combine as a coalition rooted in corruption.

But where the two contesting fronts appear to have adopted the same strategy is in announcing freebies to the general public.

That includes subsidised rice, cycles, colour TVs, laptops, wet grinders, mixers and assorted other offerings. In a departure from normal elections, this time the Sri Lankan issue does not seem to have been a key campaign point.

Observers do not see that as a major surprise considering that this is the first assembly polls after the rout of the LTTE and the death of its chief, V. Prabhakaran in Sri Lanka.

For chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the problems seem more to do with internal issues rather than the pressure being put by the opposition AIADMK front.

The 2G spectrum scam has laid the DMK low, its friction with the Congress has led to a deficiency in campaign momentum, and the speculation as to which of Karunanidhi's sons, M.K. Stalin or M.K. Azhagiri will succeed him, have all affected the DMK combine.

Anti-incumbency factor

In addition, the DMK also has to fight the anti-incumbency factor, which is common to many state governments in India.

However, political observers point out that this may be one occasion when the anti-incumbency factor is considerably less, because of a general improvement in the state's economy, the distribution of a number of freebies including colour TVs, and the introduction of social welfare measures like a medical insurance scheme.

The DMK has another reason to be hopeful in this contest: the fact that DMK-Congress combine secured a landslide victory in the 2009 general elections, overcoming the anti-incumbency factor.

On the other hand, the 2G spectrum scam, in which an estimated loss of $39 billion (Dh143.2 billion) was caused to the exchequer is seriously hurting the DMK's prospects.

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed an 80,000-page charge sheet in the case last week, and among those named, besides A. Raja, are former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and Raja's former private secretary R.K. Chandolia.

Bad timing

The timing of the filing could not have been worse for the DMK, considering that it happened just a few days before the poll date.

The poll campaign in the state this time has been low profile, apparently owing to the strict supervision by the Election Commission of poll expenditures of individual candidates.

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