Powertrip: Is Annamalai a frontrunner for BJP Rajya Sabha seat?

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna. We learnt details of the meeting between Amit Shah and Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi on April 22 where the BJP and TDP placed their demands on the table. Where does former TN BJP chief Annamalai feature in this? As an outburst by Tamil Nadu IT Minister PTR in the state assembly raised eyebrows, Powertrip brings you the lowdown. The Congress high command has asked Siddaramaiah to act on the Karnataka caste survey report; we tell you how this might actually work in the CM’s favour.

Inside Track

Exclusive stories, for your eyes only

BJP asks TDP for vacant Rajya Sabha seat, what will it give in return?

After the BJP high command asked Annamalai to step down as the Tamil Nadu state president, the immediate question that followed was: how would he be accommodated? According to TDP sources, the BJP has asked that the vacant Rajya Sabha seat – now in the TDP’s quota following YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy’s resignation – be allotted to them. This demand was conveyed during a meeting between Amit Shah and Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi on April 22.

Two senior TDP leaders confirmed that the seat will go to the BJP and that the decision on who will be nominated rests entirely with them. While the speculation is around names like Annamalai and Smriti Irani, TDP sources say Annamalai could be the frontrunner – especially as BJP’s Tamil Nadu in-charge G Kishan Reddy was also present at the meeting.

Sources also reveal that while the BJP is keen on securing a Rajya Sabha seat, the TDP has its own list of demands. Three senior party leaders are lobbying for the post of Governor. Topping the list is former Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, followed by Dalit leader Varla Ramaiah, and former Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu.

PTR’s outburst in TN assembly

The ​​Tamil Nadu assembly recently witnessed an outburst from Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. In a sharp remark, PTR pointed out that adequate funds were not being allocated to his department. He advised the Gudalur AIADMK MLA Pon Jayaseelan – who had requested an IT park in his Nilgiris constituency – to approach “those who actually decide on these matters and control funds and resources.”

The fight over which department should control tech parks in Tamil Nadu has been ongoing for years. Currently, TIDEL Park and Neo TIDEL Parks are managed by the Industries Department and TIDCO. A request was made by PTR after he took over as IT Minister to bring tech parks under his department’s control, but this was declined by the chief minister.

It is in this backdrop that PTR made those remarks on the floor of the assembly.

Sources say the cause for PTR’s grievance is that a select group of influential bureaucrats are seen making most key decisions, particularly in matters related to the finance ministry. When PTR had proposed the reallocation of tech parks, some bureaucrats reportedly advised the CM that ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu), which falls under the IT Department, would not be able to manage them as effectively as TIDCO. The growing discontent appears to have surfaced in the form of his outburst in the assembly.

Senior bureaucrats, in turn, say they are increasingly concerned as such fund transfers are often flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General during routine audits.

Politically, PTR’s remarks have taken many within the DMK by surprise. A nationally recognised face of the Tamil Nadu government during his stint as finance minister, PTR had been sidelined for months and was even removed from the finance portfolio. It had seemed, however, that things were back on track – PTR had returned to being the DMK’s national spokesperson, giving interviews on topics like demonetisation and federalism.

Caste Survey: Siddaramaiah’s lifeline?

After being stuck in political limbo for nearly a decade, the Karnataka Socio-economic and Educational Survey 2015, otherwise called the caste survey report, is finally seeing some movement – and it looks like the nudge came from none other than Rahul Gandhi’s office. Apparently, he’s been getting flak from the Modi government for demanding a national caste census while a Congress-led government in Karnataka has been sitting on its own survey since 2015.

So when Siddaramaiah was in Delhi recently for a one-on-one with AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, this was reportedly the message: act upon the report.

But of course, nothing in politics is ever that simple.

Sources in the Karnataka CMO say that the report recommendations aren’t binding and that now a cabinet sub-committee will be formed to “study” the findings. Here’s where it gets interesting: we’re hearing that DK Shivakumar and MB Patil – two key ministers from communities that aren’t too thrilled with the report – might be offered the chair of this committee. A classic move, depending on how you look at it: give them a seat at the table, maybe even some ownership, and blunt the opposition.

Now, there were reports in a section of the media about drama at a recent cabinet meeting over this report, but insiders say that’s not quite accurate. The tensions, they claim, were over an accusation by a minister that MB Patil tried to break the Lingayat community – not the report itself. That said, now that the party high command is backing the report, ministers are expected to fall in line.

Still, the tricky part is what’s inside the report. From what we know, it recommends extending reservation benefits to so many communities that nearly 85 percent of the state’s population will come under some form of reservation.

And here’s the twist: all of this might actually work in Siddaramaiah’s favour. With so much riding on the report – review, implementation, fallout – the general feeling in the party seems to be that Siddaramaiah should stay put as CM till the report is implemented in some form. So this might just end up solidifying his own political future.

Zero Hour

A political story of public importance

Inside Auroville: Power, profit, and plans for a federal enclave

In the second part of our story on Auroville, we focus on the core issues: questionable land deals, large-scale felling of trees, and allegations that the township is being reshaped into a federal enclave – a foothold for the BJP in Tamil Nadu.

Powermoves

Top 5 political stories

1. Why the BJP is interested in Chettur Sankaran Nair, the protagonist of Kesari 2

2. Andhra govt’s ordinance on SC sub-classification creates three sub-groups

3. Alliance with BJP only for elections, not for power-sharing: EPS backtracks

4. Karnataka minimum wage hike: Trade Unions welcome proposal, industry opposes

5. Thousands gather in Hyderabad in show of strength against Waqf law

We have a new Sena project that will track police excesses across states, and their impact on everyday Indians. Click here to contribute.