Two things stood out in dramatic fashion as Rahul Gandhi kicked off the Congress’ party’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu [due in April/May] from the state’s western industrial belt of Coimbatore and Tiruppur on Jan 23: the Congress choosing to campaign by itself [without the involvement of its ally, the DMK], and the enthusiastic crowds that turned up to hear what he had to say. Rahul Gandhi turned in a confident, polished performance, appealing to Tamil pride and sentiment, while at the same time attacking Modi for ignoring the state.

This was his second visit to the state in 10 days, following up on his trip to Madurai to take part in a jallikattu [bull taming] festival earlier; the contrast could not be greater: he was accompanied by Udayanidhi Stalin, DMK leader MK Stalin’s son during that visit, itself significant in its attempted outreach to the Tamil people. On this second trip, it appears that the Congress leader was determined to project his party as an independent force, which challenges the BJP at the national level, and at the state level in TN, without hanging on to the coattails of the DMK.

The Congress leader, who after arriving in Coimbatore, campaigned from an open van, spoke slowly and clearly in English, his speech translated by the TN Congress chief, KS Alagiri, into Tamil. He told the enthusiastic crowd that listened to him with rapt attention – as reported by the local media – that prime minister Modi and the BJP wanted to impose one language, one culture, one ideology all over the country, and destroy the diversity of the country. He reminded the audience that he was bound by ‘ties of family, ties of blood’ to Tamil Nadu, a reference to his father Rajiv’s assassination in Sriperumbudur in 1991.

In this 3-day trip, Rahul Gandhi launched a frontal assault on Modi and the RSS; he thundered that ‘knickerwalas from Nagpur’ cannot decide the fortunes of the Tamil people. That would be decided by the youth of Tamil Nadu, he said. Addressing a meeting of micro, small, and medium industries, he said the Central government was not for the farmers, labourers or the small enterprises.

His message appeared to resonate with many in the state; during his meeting with small entrepreneurs, a young industrialist spoke eloquently of the struggle faced by people like him. The businessman said the goals had shifted from Skill India to Digital India to Make in India; but the reality was that there were 7.5 crore small entrepreneurs in the country and they were facing extreme hardship; he pleaded that Rahul Gandhi should do something about it.

Not only was Modi hostile to those labouring classes who formed the core of the nation, he was incapable of standing up to China, Rahul Gandhi said. The Congress leader slammed the GST tax regime, and said it had imposed an intolerable burden on small enterprises; he promised that if the Congress came to power, it would be replaced by a ‘single tax, a minimum tax.’

He spoke again and again of his determination to fight for the rights of the state and its people, and promised that the Congress would spearhead efforts to give them a government that they deserve. He brought up the issue of farmers’ protest in New Delhi, and said the new farm bills would only end up enslaving the peasants, and convert them into wage labour.

The Congress leader drew attention to Modi’s silence on the China clashes. ‘Mr.56-inch (chest) has not said a word about China,’ he pointed out, but the prime minister was busy hollowing out the foundation of India to benefit his crony capitalist friends, he asserted.

On Monday (Jan 25), speaking in Erode, he took a jibe at Modi. He told a public meeting that he was not there to give his ‘Mann ki baat’ or tell them what to do, but to understand the problems of the people.

While the Congress leader was campaigning in Coimbatore, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy also held rallies in the city. His main target was the rival DMK, and its leader Stalin, who he accused of corruption and misgovernance. His party is already preparing for possible defections once Sasikala, former CM Jayalalithaa’s aide comes out of jail in Bengaluru, which should happen soon.

The AIADMK’s alliance partner, the BJP, is hoping to mark its presence in the Assembly with the help of the ruling AIADMK. Despite its boasts, the BJP has only a marginal presence in the state, and this is unlikely to change. Though many in the AIADMK would rather do without an alliance with the BJP, the party knows full well that cutting off ties would invite punitive response from the BJP, which controls the Centre.

Meanwhile, the DMK leader Stalin is pulling out all the stops to ensure victory; he said the first priority on forming a government would be to solve the people’s problems within the first 100 days. Stalin said the BJP’s politics and tactics would not work in Tamil Nadu, which had a secular culture. He expressed confidence about the DMK-Congress alliance and said the AIADMK would be routed.

It was an impressive show of force by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress … even TimesNow, which can scarcely be accused of any pro-Rahul/pro-Congress leanings, headlined its story ‘Rahul Gandhi addresses rally in Coimbatore, leads massive show of strength,’ while captioning the video ‘Rahul Gandhi dares Modi from Coimbatore.’ It also made him the first national leader to campaign in the state ahead of the legislative assembly elections.

Press coverage has been substantial, both in English and Tamil; and what must be heartening for both Rahul Gandhi and the Congress is the excellent response to the Congress leader in all the cities he visited: Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Karur. These towns in western Tamil Nadu are mini-industrial powerhouses; in Karur, the Congress leader addressed a farmers’ convention too. Women too were present in large numbers; all this should augur well for Rahul Gandhi and the party.