Chennai: With general elections just over a year away and assembly polls in 2026, political parties in Tamil Nadu have undertaken a flurry of outreach exercises, the most popular of them being hiking (foot march).
State BJP chief K. “This will be a precursor to the 2024 and 2026 elections,” Annamalai, who is set to launch a statewide padyatra in April, told ThePrint. But the IPS officer-turned-politician is not alone in the city. BJP’s ally Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has a similar plan and so does the Dravida Kazhagam (DK).
Tamil Nadu has a long history of padayatras starting with C. Rajagopalachari’s Vedaranyam Satyagraha in 1930 counter The salt tax imposed by the British – a movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March – for which he was arrested and imprisoned for six months.
It was followed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patron M. Karunanidhi’s Madurai-Tiruchendur. foot march In 1982, what came to be known as ‘.nidhi ketu nedumpayanam (Long March demanding justice)’. As Leader of the Opposition at the time, Karunanidhi demanded justice for Subramaniam Pillai, an official of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE), who was found dead in 1980 under mysterious circumstances.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko also hit the headlines in 2013 by undertaking a padyatra from Madurai to Cumbum demanding prohibition of liquor in the state. During the padyatra, Vaiko’s then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was also met, who got out of her car and asked them“Why are you stressing yourself out so much?”
However, political commentators are of the opinion that the concept of padyatras as a way of wooing the public, especially the current generation, has become outdated in the age of social media, and there is a dire need for innovative campaigning.
Political researcher Ravindran Duraisamy told ThePrint, “Starting a padyatra can increase the popularity of the leader, but added that it does not guarantee that you will win or be able to translate popularity into votes”.
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loads of hikes
Annamalai is not the only leader in the Tamil Nadu BJP who is betting on padyatras to garner support for the party. In January, Vanathi Srinivasan – BJP MLA from Coimbatore South – ran away In a 110 km long journey from Coimbatore to Palani.
He had a “spiritual” journey that ended at the Palani Murugan Temple, which is believed to be one of the six abodes of Muruga (Kartikeya). Srinivasan told ThePrint that his padyatra had three purposes: “To thank God for helping him get elected.Praying for the expansion of BJP in Tamil Nadu and praying for the long life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
For Annamalai, his padyatra in April is set to coincide with a foot march by actor Gayatri Raghuram, who End In January, after her eight-year stint with the BJP, she faced a six-month suspension for “bringing the party into disrepute”. His Resignation LetterShe had claimed that the state unit did not provide “an opportunity for an investigation, equal rights and respect for women”.
“My padyatra from Chennai to Kanyakumari will begin on the day of the Annamalai visit and will last for 40 days,” Gayathri told ThePrint. He said the idea behind this is to spread awareness about women’s rights and highlight the need for 30 per cent representation for women in parliamentary and assembly elections.
Asked why she decided to start her padyatra with Annamalai only, Gayathri said she wanted to draw attention to the “injustice” meted out to her. Clarifying that she is not opposed to the BJP, she said, “There are many complaints within the BJP (women party workers are not being treated properly) and I don’t know how many are taken seriously.” Or how many have been noticed. ,
At the same time, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP’s ally PMK’s president is Anbumani Ramadoss. Plan Padayatra PMK founder S Ramadoss (83) also took out a car march in February in the name of protecting Tamil language and culture, demanding the revival of the Noyyal river. A close aide of Anbumani said, “There will be many more padayatras this year.”
Meanwhile, Dravida Kazhagam (DK) chief K. Veeramani has announced his plans to visit the stateThough not on foot, to spread the message of social justice and propagate Dravidian ideology.
Opposition party ‘beyond ideas’
Professor Ramu Manivannan, head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Madras University, said the padayatra is a tactic usually used by the opposition to mobilize anti-incumbency. He said that the march has a “perspective and a symbolic resonance”.
Duraisamy, mentioned earlier, believes that the face of the padayatra is as important as the march itself. with him India trip In 1983, Chandrasekhar tried to present himself as an alternative To Indira Gandhi, he explained. Similarly, YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s 1,500 km padyatra in 2003 and Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s padyatra in 2018 It gave the impression that he was the most suitable political choice in undivided Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively.
“But they were all leaders who already had a significant support base, who were opposition leaders. Those who are not alternative forces, their popularity will rise and that’s it.”
According to Manivannan, padyatras are not the preferred means of mass mobilization for the youth in today’s social media age. “Earlier, during such marches, people from different political parties used to come. But now only the people of the party with the leader come to visit or surround the leader.
Vanathi Srinivasan, who is also the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, said the concept of padayatra is an accepted “mass mobilization and mass contact” measure that has long-lasting impact. Referring to his foot march till Palani, he said that the exercise energized the workers and was a great opportunity to establish contact between leaders, workers and voters.
While foot march by politicians is still fresh in the imagination of the Indian voter, political analysts believe that the current scenario in Tamil Nadu shows that the opposition parties are “beyond ideas”.
In the 90s, Jayalalithaa’s convoy-based campaigning became popular, where the leader would drive to remote villages and address supporters from inside a vehicle. it came at a time when Political parties had become used to holding public meetings.
Analysts said that this kind of new innovative politics is now missing. As Duraisamy said, “If a march were the means to victory, everyone would march on foot.”
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)
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