It is holding out the prospect of a coalition rule with BJP-led NDA partnering the ruling AIADMK left behind by charismatic Jayalalithaa, making a grandiloquent deal. Thus, BJP would begin with a power base in Tamil Nadu after years of fruitless struggle to enter the T N Assembly, if AIDMK-led alliance wins the poll. BJP gets 20 seats in the AIADMK-led alliance to contest for the 234-member Assembly.

For the DMK led by M K Stalin, it is a battle of ideology and Congress and other allies who have signed up in the DMK-led Alliance - SAP (Secular Progressive Alliance) - the BJP should not be allowed to make inroads in Tamil Nadu. While Mr Rahul Gandhi spent about a week campaigning in western Tamil Nadu and urged TN show the way of keeping out BJP, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said BJP should not be allowed to hold the reins of Government.

The majoritarian thrusts of the Modi Government in every sphere, political (at the cost of federalism) economic (taxes) or social and even cultural policies in concurrent subjects listed in the Constitution and enacting legislation like the three farm laws (without prior consultations) have negatively impacted on BJP image, besides causing widespread unrest in large parts of the country.

State elections, as and when due. have thus become major battle-grounds for the Modi Government to ensure that BJP's countrywide political dominance is not allowed to be imperiled but further consolidated and BJP is now on an aggressive approach to capture West Bengal, to retain power in Assam, and ensure a weighty presence in the South (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) for the first time. The ruling AIADMK is more than willing to co-opt BJP for its political survival.

But larger issues for the polity are involved in the context of a weakening of India's democracy, especially in the outcome of March-April elections in the four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry brought under President's rule after the collapse of the Congress-led Government there. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already launched BJP's poll campaign in Assam, with wordy duels with Mamata Banerjee, CM, in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with striking notes of being on top on everything, in other words seeking to dispel doubts and apprehensions over the Centre's moves after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Home Minister Amit Shah, the master strategist for poll wins, has followed the Prime Minister to work out the details, and on arrival in Tamil Nadu, declared that the State would get a coalition government on May 2, the date for the announcement of all election results. It would be an NDA-AIADMK Government led by present Chief Minister Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami, he said.

The 2020 assumptions of the Chief Minister, while seeking a third term, had been punctured as the Modi-Shah duo was looking for a "game-changer" in Tamil Nadu with BJP at the state level led by L Murugan, also getting greatly strengthened to be able to throw a challenge or two to the Palaniswami Government and build an electoral alliance for power-sharing.

Mr Palaniswami had at one time ruled out any national party in T N Government in 2021 or a coalition government. But as uncertainties with 2021 polls for his Government grew, the AIADMK increasingly looked to the Modi Government, embraced Home Minister Amit Shah to firm up alliance. The AIADMK government Tamil Nadu had gone the whole-log with the Modi Government's highly questionable policies and controversial laws. such as NEP (New Education Policy),barring the three-language formula, Labour Codes and the three farm laws against which farmers have been agitating for over 100 days in Delhi.

All these underlined its diffidence over getting a third consecutive term of office in 2021 on its own strength in the post-Jayalalithaa period, however much her memory is honoured with huge pictures and banners for all of its policy announcements. And it is the void that the Modi-Shah has sought to fill and make the party she built in the post-MGR era a pliable ally.

For his part, Mr Palaniswami had been very active in announcing new policies on development at the state level promising huge outlays in a fiscally-stressed state with Rs. 5 lakh core of debt. He was also signing large investment agreements with private sector, individuals and corporates, to claim to making Tamil Nadu a State of "unparalleled growth and development".

And Prime Minister Modi responded with inauguration of Chennai Metro and several rail and other water projects and dedicating to the nation a power plant and other energy projects in T N and Jipmer Blood Centre and other buildings for a "quantum Jump in development of Puducherry".

Home Minister Amit Shah has opened BJP's poll campaign in Kanyakumari with house-to-house visits and calls to support the. BJP candidate for Lok Sabha by-poll in Kanya kumari, Mr Pon Radhakrishnan, a veteran elected before several times from here but defeated in 2019 by a Congress candidate who died. The Congress will contest this seat again with DMK support.

Both DMK led by Mr M K Stalin, son of late M Karunanidhi, and the AIADMK have finalised their alliances under which both parties will contest the bulk of seats in the 234 Assembly, DMK in 177 constituencies and its major ally, the Congress will fight for 25 seats, the Left parties.12, other state level parties (MDMK and VCN) 12 and IUML (Muslim League) and another smaller party 5.

The AIADMK alliance includes PMK of Dr Ramadoss (mainly representing Vanniar community) 23 seats to contest, more or less the same figure for Captain Vijay Kant's DMDK, BJP 20 seats and a number of other smaller parties including Tamil Manila Congress under finalisation. AIADMK will face several tough tests against DMK even as PMK and DMDK could be among strong contenders on the ruling party side. The state BJP President L Murugan claims his party could gain in all its 20 constituencies.

DMK leader M K Stalin, at a mammoth rally in Tiruchy on March 7 announced a 10-year road map (Vision Document) for economic growth, employment and all-round development with focus on seven sectors including education and health and rural infrastructure. He said DMK had always worked for social justice and women development and said every home-worker would get monetary assistance of Rs.1000 per month. The envisaged plans for the coming decade promise double digit growth, creation of 10 lakh jobs every year to halve the unemployment rate and uplifting about 1 crore people from poverty to make Tamil Nadu the first state in India without a single person Below Poverty Line.

The AIADMK has not come out with any manifesto so far. But seeing Mr Stalin's Rs.1000 a month for homeworkers, Chief Minister Palaniswami announced Rs.1500 a month and six free LPG cylinders a year for women.

Mr Stalin, who has been highly confident about defeating AIADMK to deny a third term for it declared, moved by the mega size of crowd on Sunday, "the end of corrupt government is in sight and May 2 would pave the way for the new Government, dreamt of by Periyar, Anna and Kalaignar (Karunanidhi). "We are committed to make Tamil Nadu modern by adopting the ten-year vision which would make for a Rs.35 lakh crore economy".

Only too conscious of Tamil language importance in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Modi has exhibited his love for Tamil language, to which Home Minister Amit Shah joined with the regret they had not made effort to learn "such a beautiful language". (IPA Service)