- 17 hours ago
This episode of Super 6 examines the BJP's allocation of 27 out of 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, with significant questions emerging over the party's seat selection strategy.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, you're watching Super 6 here on India Today.
00:03I'm Akshita Nanda Gopal.
00:04Over the next 30 minutes, we're getting you all the big headlines
00:07emerging from the pole-bound southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
00:11So what have we got lined up for you on the show this evening?
00:14We're going to be focusing first on the biggest talking point coming in from Tamil Nadu.
00:18The NDA has released the seats that have been allocated, 27 seats
00:22that have been allocated to the BJP.
00:24But there are so many questions right now about the choice of seats,
00:28whether these are safe seats, whether they're challenging seats
00:31and why many of the absolute sitters for the BJP wasn't given to the party.
00:37Was it just bad strategy or is this a bad bargain for the BJP?
00:42We're going to be breaking that down for you.
00:44Also coming up on the show, what's happening in Kerala.
00:46We're just about two weeks away from the elections in Kerala
00:49and both the left and the Congress, the UDF and the LDF are fighting it out over guess what?
00:55Who is BJP's B team?
00:57We'll get you all the reactions.
00:59So all that, so those are the two stories to watch out for.
01:02Let's begin with the headlines first.
01:10Trump's big warning to Iran amid escalating war
01:13asks Iran to accept the demands or to face action.
01:16White House press secretary doubles down says Trump doesn't bluff.
01:19He will unleash hell.
01:23President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before.
01:28President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell.
01:34U.S. President mocks Iran leadership, says no one wants to take up the role of supreme leader,
01:39claims every leader offered supreme leader's role, says no thank you.
01:57Iran laying mines in Kharga Island as U.S. eyes the oil hub after reports of U.S. ground troops
02:04movement.
02:04U.S. media claims Iran laying traps moving troops to Kharga Island.
02:11Tanker Apollo Ocean carrying 17,600 metric tons of LPG docks at the Mangalore port.
02:18Government says no shortage of energy as 60 days of stock available.
02:22Wands of action against those spreading misinformation.
02:30Shocking accident from Arashtra's Thane caught on camera.
02:33A speeding car rams into cyclist.
02:36Victim flung into air, dies on spot.
02:39The driver, a 17-year-old, has been taken into custody.
02:48Shocking Prajwal Ravana rerun in Goa.
02:51BJP Neta's son held for sexually exploiting 25 to 30 minor girls in the last three years.
02:57He allegedly coerced the survivors into sexual acts and threatened to release their videos.
03:10Okay, so BJP is all set to contest 27 out of 234 seats in Tamil Nadu.
03:16This was long before decided, of course, in the NDA seat sharing plan.
03:20But there is a big question mark now on the allocation of seats to the Safran party.
03:25Why exactly?
03:26Of the 27 seats that have been allocated to the BJP,
03:29many of them have been ruled as difficult, challenging seats that the BJP has never taken on before.
03:35Even regions, there's a big question mark about the kind of distribution in certain regions
03:39where the BJP, again, has never held foot.
03:43All of this has led to questions about what's really happened,
03:45what went wrong as far as the BJP strategy for Tamil Nadu is concerned.
03:49What are the concerns really?
03:51Let me highlight it for you.
03:52There are a couple of regions, a couple of seats that there are questions over right now
03:57about what really led to these decisions.
04:01If I were to break those down for you about what really doesn't add up,
04:04as far as BJP goes, you know, they showed a whole lot of growth in 2024.
04:09They reached an 11% seat share, double-digit seat share.
04:12And yet, in 2026, we're talking about Chennai here in particular.
04:17In Chennai, only one seat has been allotted, the seat of Mailapur.
04:20You have Avadi also.
04:21But Mailapur is the only seat in an area, in an urban pocket where the BJP did well in 2024.
04:28They bettered their numbers in 2024.
04:30And yet, no inroads really in Chennai in this particular election.
04:35Only one seat and that to Mailapur.
04:37And then, of course, if you look at Kanyakumari or Saban Tamil Nadu for that matter,
04:40in Kanyakumari, which has seats, which have a large Christian population,
04:45a majority of those seats have gone to the BJP, four seats in all.
04:48And rather, other seats like Kanyakumari seat itself,
04:51which maybe would have been an easier gamble for the BJP, that hasn't gone to them.
04:55Again, a question mark on that.
04:57Let's talk about the Kungu Belt.
04:58It's here that the BJP believes they have their biggest chance of performing well in the Kungu Belt.
05:03What have they got?
05:05One Coimbatore seat.
05:07Coimbatore North seat.
05:08Nothing else in Coimbatore.
05:09And besides that, five overall in Kungu Belt, including Ooty, including several other seats,
05:14Tirupur and several others as well.
05:17But ultimately, they would have thought that their biggest number would be in Kungu Belt.
05:20Not really.
05:21Their biggest is in Southern Tamil Nadu.
05:23And then, one of the other big shockers is the Tirunalveli seat.
05:27Nainar Nagendran, who is the Tamil Nadu BJP chief, one of the few MLAs the BJP has,
05:33had won the seat in 2021, has contested from the seat for 25 years.
05:38Guess what?
05:38Tirunalveli is not with the BJP, which means Nainar Nagendran this time will actually have
05:43to change his seat because Tirunalveli has not gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party,
05:47a seat that many would have believed is a stronghold for the Safra Party,
05:52that Nainar Nagendran had a strong chance of winning.
05:55So, these are the questions really that are being asked about the BJP strategy going into
06:01the 2026 election.
06:02So, I want to bring in Pramod Madhav also who is running his life from Chennai with more
06:05on this.
06:06Pramod, what are BJP leaders really saying?
06:09You know, there are questions being asked about the strategy of choosing these seats.
06:12There are questions about representing certain young leaders of the Tamil Nadu BJP,
06:17which doesn't seem to be also happening.
06:21Which surely is, Akshita, one thing is very certain because like we could clearly see that
06:24the ecosystem that is on the social media at least is not happy with what has happened.
06:28They have even clear-cutly asked what about the actual like, you know, for the constituencies
06:32in the state of Chennai alone, be it Harbour, be it Tinagar, be it Velachari, why were they
06:37not given to BJP?
06:38These are the questions that are being raised because just like you mentioned, even also the Kungu
06:42Belt or the South or the Tamil Nadu's, you know, complete South Belt, Anna Malay went
06:46on Padhyatra.
06:47He was trying to bring in all the votes together.
06:50But right now, it looks like even Anna Malay will not contest.
06:52So, that is actually a big jolt for them.
06:54The questions being raised is that, Tamir say apparently even before she could be announced
06:58as a candidate yesterday with Ederpani K. Paneswami, she was at Mailapur, very clear-cutly
07:02saying that probably she is the maximum percentage person to contest from there.
07:06So, questions are being raised about, just like you mentioned about the young Naitas from BJP,
07:09where are they going to contest from, why is it the place they have worked already, why
07:13wasn't it already given.
07:14It looks like the formula BJP had before Naina Nagindran, when Anna Malay was there, for
07:19almost three years candidates had worked in various locations, but that has been completely
07:23lost.
07:23Either it has been taken by AIDMK or the other ally party, Sakshita.
07:28All right, Pramod, thanks very much for joining us with those details.
07:31Let's take this across also to our panelists this evening to understand whether this was
07:36some kind of bad strategy by the BJP.
07:40Joining us here on Super 6, we've got Sandeep Shastri, election analyst with us.
07:47We also have Dr. Suman S. Raman, political analyst.
07:51Dr. Suman S. Raman, I'd like to begin with you.
07:52Good evening.
07:53What do you make of those 27 seats that have been allocated to the BJP and the names of
07:57those seats that are out?
07:59There's a whole lot of criticism.
08:01But do you think that's correct, the criticism that's poured in for the choice of seats?
08:06Actually, Akshita, I don't.
08:08Because except for Velacheri, you know, or maybe one additional seat in Chennai, I don't
08:15really believe that the distribution has gone all right.
08:19Anyway, let's look at it very objectively.
08:23The BJP has got five out of six seats in Kanyakumari district, a district where it is extremely
08:29strong.
08:30I mean, even though one is being contested on a lotus symbol by another partner, but they've
08:34got five seats there.
08:36They've got a sizable number.
08:38In the Kongu belt, they've got Tirupur South, they've got Avinashii, both of which are eminently
08:44winnable seats.
08:45They've got Coimbatore North, which again, Vanity Srinivasan is likely to be contesting.
08:50So this whole argument that, you know, out of those 27 seats, yes, about eight to 10 seats
08:55are very, very, very difficult seats since you're not going to win.
08:57But there are at least 15 seats there that are winnable for a party with five, you know,
09:04MLAs.
09:06Here is an opportunity to go to 15 MLAs.
09:09And I don't see that as a bad deal at all.
09:11I know that there are people who are saying that, you know, they should have got this and
09:14they should have got that.
09:18Sorry?
09:21Sumanth, that was meant for my PCR, but go ahead.
09:24You were making a point about how you believe 15 seats are strong seats for the BJP.
09:28Here's where there's a contention, there's a counter to that, which is number one on Chennai.
09:33The BJP did well.
09:35They did grow in 2024.
09:36And yet you don't see that transforming to seats.
09:39You know, a Teenagar, a Verichiri, those were sitters.
09:41The BJP should have been able to back those.
09:43Instead, you get a Mailapur.
09:46No, but look, you have to understand that some of these seats, like Teenagar, for instance,
09:53Teenagar was lost by the AIA-DMK by 120 votes last time.
09:58There's no way that the earlier MLA who lost last time, Satya Narayan, was going to give
10:06up that seat.
10:07So there are a lot of seats like this.
10:09For instance, now I told you about Tirpur South.
10:12I told you about Coimatur North.
10:13I told you about the, you know, Avinashii.
10:17Not only that, some of these seats in Kanyakumari side, Satur, where Naina Nagendran, by the
10:23way, two of their MLAs opted to shift seats.
10:25Naina Nagendran, who was contesting from Tirunelveli, opted to shift to Satur.
10:29So that was why that seat was changed.
10:32Three are sitting MLA seats.
10:33Modakurchi is a sitting BJP MLA seat.
10:36Yeah, Modakurchi fight.
10:37Nagarcoil is a sitting MLA seat.
10:39No, but in Kanyakumari itself, Dr. Sumansi Raman, there are questions about the manner
10:45in which those seats have been chosen, rather than having a Kanyakumari district seat going
10:50to you.
10:50I'll bring in Sandeep Shastri also, who's joining us on this broadcast.
10:53Mr. Sandeep Shastri, do you agree with Sumansi Raman's analysis that this is actually a well-thought-out
10:59strategy, that 15 of those 27 are good, strong seats for the BJP to contest on?
11:06Akshita, it's difficult to disagree with Raman, sir, on his very, very calibrated analysis.
11:14To add to what Mr. Raman said, I would just make two, three points.
11:20Number one, it's important for us to remember that the BJP has a long-term strategy and not
11:27just a strategy for the next election.
11:30And it may not be appropriate to look at how well the BJP did in the last Lok Sabha election,
11:37because in Tamil Nadu, Lok Sabha elections and Vidhan Sabha elections are totally different
11:44political ballgames.
11:45No, I agree with you, sir, on that.
11:47But where I don't agree with you is that the BJP is looking at this in the long-term.
11:51If they were, they wouldn't be aligned with an AIA-DMK.
11:54They'd be kind of putting themselves out there and trying to see how they'd perform
11:57on their own.
11:58They didn't want to do the long game, which is why they allied.
12:01Akshita, which brings me to my other point, which is, it's important to understand that
12:06the BJP wants this alliance because they want to bring together the anti-DMK, anti-Congress
12:14forces.
12:15And that would not have been possible if not for an alliance with the ANNA-DMK.
12:20So, in a sense, the immediate objective of the BJP in this assembly election is to weaken
12:27the DMK-led alliance, which has been in power for some period of time, to weaken that alliance
12:34and then, as a later strategy, emerge as a principal player in the politics of the state.
12:41So, I think we need to look beyond this election in terms of what the BJP is planning, both in
12:48Kerala and in Tamil Nadu.
12:50Now, the other challenge here is, Dr. Sumansi Raman, you know, the face for a Tamil Nadu
12:55BJP.
12:56And there's a lot of questions about this as well.
12:58And Anna Malai, Vinoj Selvam, SG Surya, young leaders who are kind of leading maybe the
13:04social media footprint of the Tamil Nadu BJP.
13:06But even that and having that representation matters, which at this point doesn't look
13:11like there will be.
13:13Look, we have to understand one thing, Akshita.
13:16Though the next gen of the BJP is very popular on social media, they are not as experienced
13:25politically on the ground.
13:27Most of them haven't contested elections in the past.
13:30So, I do agree with you.
13:31One or two of them could be given tickets.
13:33They still may be given tickets.
13:34I mean, it may not necessarily be SG Surya, but it may be somebody else who could be given
13:38tickets.
13:39Now, the point is, Vinoj Selvam did contest the Lok Sabha election and lost the seat last
13:44time from Chennai.
13:45So, not as if the BJP has not given seats.
13:48And I agree with Mr. Shastri on this long-term view.
13:52Look, in 1996, the very first assembly seat that the BJP won in Tamil Nadu was Padmanabha
13:59Puram in Kanyakumari district.
14:00So, they do think long-term.
14:03And there, it is a polarized vote bank between the Hindus and the Christians in Kanyakumari.
14:09BJP is smart in saying that, you know, both the regional parties are comparatively weak
14:15in Kanyakumari district.
14:16Usually, it is a battle between Congress and BJP there.
14:19And therefore, they have said, okay, let's take on the Congress.
14:22So, rather than take on the DMK.
14:24So, five seats there.
14:25I am not too sure that all of this is bad.
14:29Yes, there are about 10 to 12 seats, which are pretty much very difficult for the BJP.
14:35But like I said, if you go from 5 to 15, I would see that as progress.
14:39If it is 5 to 15, because right now, the chatter is, and the biggest question, Sandeep Shastri,
14:44is, will the BJP actually be able to do that?
14:47Will they still be stuck at a 2 to 3 and not go beyond a single digit looking at the
14:5227 seats
14:53that they've gotten?
14:53There's a lot of criticism headed their way on how these seats were chosen.
14:57Have absolute sitters, which would have been safe seats, easy seats for the BJP, kind of
15:02been ignored?
15:04Akshita, I'm sure there are wider considerations which have been in play.
15:10BJP is a bigger, has a bigger stake when it comes to parliament elections and a less critical
15:17stake when it comes to assembly elections.
15:19And therefore, to be able to concede to the ANNA-DMK what it was hoping for as part of
15:26the alliance, I think, is part of the larger BJP strategy.
15:30To be able to gain its political footprints in the state on its own and with the support
15:38of the ANNA-DMK.
15:39I think that's what's the strategy which the BJP is planning.
15:44And I think their aim is to see that in the next Lok Sabha election, they are able to contest
15:50more seats themselves and get a better tally for themselves when it comes to a Lok Sabha
15:56poll.
15:57Because in the assembly election, even if the alliance were to do well, let's remember
16:02it's the ANNA-DMK which will, if that alliance were to win, and I know that's a big I and
16:08a big F.
16:09If they are able to win, it will be the ANNA-DMK which would be in the driver's seat and
16:15not
16:15the BJP.
16:15No, but I will highlight the 2021 versus 2026. The BJP from 20 seats has only gone up to
16:2127. There were questions over that. And now questions over the seats that they are contesting.
16:25And ultimately, we'll know in about a month, over a month from now, on whether this seat
16:30gamble really has paid off for the BJP. Whether they can go from a 3-2 right up to a
16:37double digit.
16:37That's the big question. But Sumansi Raman and Sandeep Shastri, thank you very much for
16:41joining me on this broadcast with your analysis of the BJP's choice of seats. We'll know in
16:46the days to come, really, what the breakdown looks like for the other side, the DMK Congress
16:50as well. But I'm cutting across to a news break coming in from Tamil Nadu.
17:01Now, right after the TVK claimed that hundreds of Congress leaders are lining up to join them,
17:07you've got a Tamil Nadu Congress leader, General Secretary of the Congress, Selvam, who was suspended
17:13from the party for being in talks with the TVK, officially joining TVK. Pictures also have
17:20emerged. Those are on your screens of Selvam meeting with Vijay. And importantly, tomorrow,
17:25TVK's first list of candidates is expected. Vijay is chairing a key meet at the party headquarters
17:30in Chennai to finalise that list. Will there therefore be clarity on which seat Vijay himself
17:36will contest from? There's been endless speculation and amid that, there have been questions about
17:41whether Vijay could contest from Perambur in Chennai. He is set up to go ahead and address a rally
17:47from there on Saturday as well. And that's only added to the speculation. Tomorrow, maybe,
17:51we'll get those answers. And the suspense over which seat he'll contest from could come to an end.
18:01We bring Kerala, where elections are just about a week away. April 9th is the date of polling
18:06in the state. And so, obviously, political temperature soaring along with the heat in Kerala.
18:13The UDF and LDF are at it. Rahul Gandhi and Pinarai Vijayan are fighting it out in campaigns,
18:20in rallies. And guess what is at the core of those fights? Each of them pointing fingers at each
18:25other, referring to the other, to their counter as BGB's B-team.
18:38God's own country is gearing up for its most awaited political battle. But trouble is brewing
18:44within the India bloc. The Congress and CPM allies at the centre, but rivals in Kerala are busy taking
18:51pot shots at each other. Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan has openly slammed Rahul Gandhi,
18:57calling the Congress, the B-team of BJP.
19:01The Congress has stuck back by taking on both left front and BJP.
19:16Both the BJP and the LDF promised jobs to the young people of Kerala. And instead of making
19:25you number one in employment, number one in technology, they have made you number one in
19:32drug cases in India. This is what the LDF has to show for the last 10 years.
19:44Adding fuel to the fire, the Congress released an advertisement mocking the Pinarai government
19:49while backing the UDF front as the harbinger of change.
20:06Friends turn rivals, sharpen their knives every election season. Will the political heat in Kerala
20:11affect the National Opposition Alliance at the centre remains to be seen. With Shivimol KG,
20:16Bureau Report, India Today.
20:22The contentious issue of entry of women into the Shabarimala Temple is back in the Supreme
20:27Court. And what was rather surprising is that the left government, which previously endorsed
20:32lifting the ban on women in the temple, has done a complete U-turn. The Kerala government
20:37in its response has now said the court's role is not to determine if a practice appeals to
20:43no reason but to verify if the belief is genuinely held as an integral part of the religion.
20:48The state suggests that any judicial review of long-standing religious practices should
20:52only occur after wide consultation with eminent religious scholars. Contrast this with what
20:58the Kerala government said previously. In quote, the government said thereof the opinion previously
21:03that nobody should be prohibited from their right to worship and it called for a committee
21:07to look into it. So essentially the Kerala government now is for the age old tradition of denying
21:13menstruating women entry into the Shabarimala Temple. What's changed? How has the government
21:18suddenly decided for standing by the temple's traditional stand? I'll just highlight that
21:26Kerala goes to polls on April 9th. I'll leave it to you to join the dots.
21:29Kerala goes to polls on April 9th. That's all we have time for in this edition of Super 6.
Comments