Ever since, elections in Tamil Nadu have been a contest between the two; any other political formation always aligned with one of them. For the initial time in 1967, Tamil Nadu is set to see the rise of a third force, the BJP. In this lies the significance of the Tamil Nadu elections in 2024. Few expect the party to secure a large number of seats; predictions vary from zero to mid-single-digits. However, the common belief is that the party will put up a good display and receive a fair vote share.
So, for the first time in years, the state is witnessing a true three-cornered contest. Considering the Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) has been gaining a certain amount of support, one could say that the elections will be a four-Players contest. DMK, AIADMK, BJP, and NTK—are competing for three ideologies. “The Periyarist ideology that puts social justice and equality above the rest is followed by DMK and AIADMK, the Hindutva-nationalist ideology of BJP, and the Tamil patriotic philosophy of NTK”.
Tamil Nadu is one of the few states where the Congress can win some seats. It is running for office in nine constituencies alongside DMK, another I.N.D.I.A members a block. And previously, the BJP, which was then in an alliance with the AIADMK, received 3.66 percent of the vote in the 2019 Parliament elections. This time, exceeding double digits will be thought of as "competent".
It is going to be interesting to observe the significance that the 2024 elections are too Tamil Nadu's main political parties. Achieving a large number of seats is essential for the DMK in order to strengthen itself for the 2026 assembly elections, when it would confront many obstacles, including the BJP's rising authority, the inescapable anti-incumbency factor, and the appearance of Tamizhagha Vetri Katchi, actor Vijay's sidekick. Its influence in the I.N.D.I.A alliance will also grow if the Upper House of Parliament has a large number of MPs.
The 2024 polls are now most important to AIADMK. Edappadi Palanisamy (EPS), the leader of the party, has taken a risk by breaking away from the BJP-led NDA before the polls. He had anticipated that his party would receive a significant number of minority votes as a result of the BJP's dehypenation, and that numerous other political forms would break away from the DMK alliance and join him (SDPI, MDK, and Forward Bloc).
BJP, on the other hand, put together a much larger alliance by asking for the help of PMK, which has a significant following, O Pannerselvam (OPS), TTV Dhinakaran, Tamil Maanila Congress, and three other prominent politicians from their respective constituencies: A C Shanmugam, TR Paarivendhar, and John Pandian. On the BJP's Lotus emblem, Shanmugam and Paarivendhar are competing for office.
Despite the results, the 2024 elections will be remembered for two individuals who contributed significantly to the contest's interest: Chief Minister MK Stalin, who demonstrated pragmatic approach in negotiations to preserve the DMK-led bloc, and BJP state president K Annamalai, who made the party a powerful opponent with his "En Mann, En Makkal" (my land, my people) yatra.
