India News | Kejriwal Enters Tamil Nadu Political Landscape in Support of Stalin; Rahul Gandhi Leads Delimitation Charge, BJP Hits Back
by ANI · LatestLYChennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 20 (ANI): Tamil Nadu's political landscape saw a sharp escalation on Monday with Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal campaigning in the Southern state in support of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SAP) led by DMK alongside Chief Minister MK Stalin.
During the day, DMK-Congress front launched an offensive against the AIADMK-BJP combine amid an intensifying row over women's reservation and its linkage with delimitation, while the state's opposition dismissed their critique, maintaining that the southern states' representation would not be reduced.
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Cornering the BJP on the 131st Constitution Amendment Bill that aimed to increase the Lok Sabha seats, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the move came to reduce the representation of South and Northeast India, calling it an "attack on the idea of union of India."
"Just a few days ago in parliament, they attacked our constitution. They claimed to be passing the women's reservation bill, but behind that, the attempt was to change the electoral map; they were trying to reduce the representation of South and Northeast India... they were attacking the idea of the union of India, and that's why we defeated them. Any attempt of this type will be defeated again and again," he said.
Clarifying Congress's position on women's reservation, the Congress MP said, "If they want to pass the women's bill, that is already done. That bill does now try to change the electoral map. While passing that bill, the BJP said that this would be implemented in 10 years. We insisted on implementing immediately. Implement that right now, and all opposition will support you."
Slamming the Opposition, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K. Annamalai criticised the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress, questioning their opposition despite what he described as improved representation for southern states.
Speaking to ANI, Annamalai said, "I really don't understand what DMK's problem and Congress's problem is when all the southern Indian states' quota went up by 50%."
"The overall proportional representation of southern India continues to be at 23.9%, a marginal increase from 23.7%. So nobody has a problem except DMK and Congress. DMK wanted to propagate the dynasty... People of Tamil Nadu are watching it. I'm very sure that on April 23, they will vote decisively against DMK and Congress", he said.
BJP leader CR Kesavan also attacked the Congress and DMK, accusing them of "betraying the cause" of women's empowerment. He also highlighted the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards women's empowerment and likened the DMK and Congress to "treacherous traitors, Mir Jafar and Ettappan.
In between the political back-and-forth, another incident which drew attention was the TVK chief Vijay's rally in the Panchatti area of the Ponnery assembly constituency, which resulted in some people fainting, while a party supporter experienced discomfort due to standing under the sun, prompting medical attention from the party cadre, reigniting concerns regarding crowd management and safety at his events, especially following a tragic stampede at his Karur rally in September 2025.
Another row erupted after Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai was allegedly "unlawfully confined" at his Sripeumbudur residence by Income Tax Department officials. INC called it a "blatant misuse of central agencies", targeting the BJP and accusing it of sabotaging political opponents.
In a post on X, Stalin sternly condemned the IT action against the TNCC chief, calling it a "conspiracy." The CM alleged that the BJP is working under the "fear of defeat" and affirmed a befitting response in the polls.
"Strong Condemnation of the Conspiracy to Silence TNCC President Brother Selva Perunthagai's Campaign! Forgetting that India is a democratic nation, with just 48 hours left for the election campaign to conclude, the BJP government, united in the fear of defeat, is resorting to atrocities to suppress the opposition. The people of Tamil Nadu will give a fitting response to this," CM Stalin wrote in the post.
Another development in the Tamil Nadu political realm on the DMK side was the entry of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal into the fray as the latter met with CM Stalin and lauded his efforts for the state's development. The two also held a roadshow in the Pulianthope area of Chennai, where the CM targeted the Centre and said that Kejriwal was imprisoned based on "fabricated charges" but later proved his innocence through the Courts, signalling to the Delhi Excise Policy Case.
As the campaign enters its final stretch, the tone is expected to become even sharper, with each party doubling down on its core messaging.
Tamil Nadu polls are scheduled to be conducted in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.
The main electoral contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay-led TVK is attempting to turn the state elections into a three-way contest. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)