With polls in Tamil Nadu & Bengal, 2021 will be year of BJP's Great Test

Elections are due in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal that year. Early indications show Bengal holds promise; the party might have to recast itself to win over Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu appears to be fast becoming an independent republic. It defied national sentiment during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to vote for the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-Congress alliance. The Congress may be wringing its hands about the loss of its leaders and might be ambivalent about its stand of Article 370, but DMK MP Tiruchi Siva’s speech on August 5 was a stellar call for democracy and humaneness in Kashmir. Speaking against the motion, he said: “Sir, we have to re-assure in this situation that no force on the earth can take away the special status provided to