TVK weighs a southern push, with talk of a Nadar outreach

Chennai: TVK’s leadership is reported to have noted that the party organisation in the southern districts is weaker than it expected, and to be discussing how to win support from the Nadar community, an important vote bank there.

The party formed the government after winning many seats, but its work in the south is said to have fallen short. Reports say it won no seat in some districts, including Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari. It won one seat in Thoothukudi. In Tirunelveli it did better, but dissatisfaction over the party’s work after the election is said to have grown. Moves around Isakki Subbiah drew attention in that context.

Trouble coordinating the organisation

Many new members joined after the election, but folding them into district and constituency work is described as an administrative problem. Several functionaries are politically inexperienced, which has made it harder to deal with senior politicians and people with local influence.

The leadership is also said to be in no hurry to hold local-body elections. After the terms of corporations and other local bodies end, the party is reported to be considering a period of administration by officials.

Nadar and Mukkulathor votes

Inside the party, the assessment is said to be that TVK has not yet fully won over the politically important Nadar and Mukkulathor communities in the south.

There is also reported discussion of whether the TVK government should lift the long-standing restriction on toddy tapping, a demand among sections of the Nadar community. Critics are asking whether any such decision would rest only on political calculation, or also on farmers and the rural economy.

The leadership’s next moves are expected to depend on the by-election results and on how the party grows in the south.