Money, muscle, and media versus mind: Who will win out in Tamil Nadu?

Transfer of power aside, BJP's 'Sengol' is part of a larger political play in its Tamil Nadu plan

Among the six southern states, Tamil Nadu (TN) has lately been conspicuous on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) radar, along with Telangana. Three events gave the BJP the traction it wanted.

In November 2022, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi inaugurated a month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, his Lok Sabha (LS) constituency. He called attention to the integral association of Kashi (Varanasi) and TN with Lord Shiva and said the confluence of the two strands was as “sacred” as the mingling of Ganga and Yamuna at Sangam.

Modi regretted that the Tamil language was not “fully honoured”, a statement meant