Tamil Nadu voters not swayed by Lankan issue

As the DMK proved pollsters wrong with a strong performance in a majority of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats, Maran told NDTV TV: “People (of Tamil Nadu) have given a clear mandate.”

Asked if the emotive issue of Sri Lanka’s military offensive against the Tamil Tigers had played a role in balloting, as many had expected, he said: “That has not played a role.”

AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha and her allies in the MDMK and PMK had taken an aggressive line in Tamil Nadu during the election campaign blaming the Sri Lankan and Indian Governments for the suffering of Tamil civilians in the island nation. Jayalalitha threatened to send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka to carve out a Tamil Eelam State if her coalition won most seats in Tamil Nadu and if she ended up playing a key role in government formation in New Delhi.

The Indian elections, which concluded, yesterday giving another mandate to the ruling Congress party, is clear indication that the Indian public has rejected terrorism.

Local political analysts said that Sri Lankan issue had become a big electoral theme in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with two main regional parties that have dominated state politics for the last four decades - the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) making the Sri Lanka factor a prime issue of their campaigns.

“However rejection of these political parties clearly spell out that the Indian public has endorsed what the Government’s humanitarian operation in the North,” a University political lecturer said.

Both parties vied with each other to impress the electorate with their commitment to “protect” the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. “However this slogan had little impact and the people have rejected it,” he said.