Modi meeting Karunanidhi will help improve ties -Governance Now

Modi meeting Karunanidhi will help improve ties

An analyst feels the BJP would like the current political set up to continue till 2019

Shivani Chaturvedi | November 8, 2017 | Chennai

#BJP #MK Stalin #Chennai #Karunanidhi #Narendra Modi #DMK #AIADMK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi in Chennai

There is speculation about ties improving between the BJP and the DMK after prime minister Narendra Modi met DMK supremo Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence in Chennai on Monday. He also interacted with DMK working president MK Stalin.

Analysts feel that Modi might not think of a long term electoral alliance with DMK. However, this meeting may be effective in toning down DMK’s resistance to the BJP at least in the next few months, says city-based political commentator Ramu Manivannan.

Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami or deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam are not helpful in politics and any combination with the AIADMK is a burden than advantage, adds Manivannan. So the meeting of Modi and Stalin certainly has significance and was not just a courtesy visit.

However, a few political analysts think that Modi visiting Karunanidhi was purely a courtesy to enquire about his health and nothing more to it.

Political analyst BR Haran says, as far as BJP is concerned, the present set up in Tamil Nadu is best, with the state government being obedient to the centre. He opined that having isolated the Mannargudi family, BJP is successfully steering the state government for the time being.

He added that BJP would prefer to continue this until 2019 and the AIADMK (EPS plus OPS) will face 2019 Lok Sabha polls as NDA partner. And if the BJP plays as per plan, it will have an upper hand in 2021 assembly elections and there might be BJP-AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, he thinks.

Comments

Other News

How Rafi, Raj Kapoor helped pave the way for a great uranium deal

There`s a certain moment in diplomacy that`s too personal to be captured in a communiqué, too small to make the front page, but more revealing than the front page. This week, prime minister Narendra Modi reached Tashkent and, amid the pomp of state visits, managed to evoke the old Bollywood tunes

Distinguishing Fish 1 and Fish 2: The pragmatism behind India’s WTO ratification

India became the 123rd WTO member to ratify the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries subsidies (AoFS) when it deposited the Instrument of Acceptance for Phase 1 on July 20, 2026. The ratification is restricted to disciplining Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), protection for overfished

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202

The Constitution cannot be altered: Justice Abhay Oka

Justice Abhay Oka, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2025, has said that the Constitution of India cannot be altered. Explaining the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment (1973) on the basic structure of the Constitution, he said, “This is one judgment that has saved democracy in India.&rdq

How the flora and fauna evolved in the Indian subcontinent

Mammals of India By A.J.T. Johnsingh and P.O. Nameer HarperCollins India in association with Bombay Natural History Society

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris