The next PM of the country: the hunt for the leader has started

Hobson’s choice. Last week, the AIADMK supreme  gave  a Clarion call to her party workers to work very hard henceforth so that her  party could play the role of a King or Queen maker and would be able to influence the decision on who would become the next PM of the country. She also informed her party workers that the time was ripe for the AIADMK to go beyond the borders of Tamil Nadu.  She asked the cadres to work diligently in the coming days and achieve this goal.  Indirectly, of course, she has made it very clear that her “inner most wish” is to become the PM of the country herself. She is fortunate that she heads a party which strongly follows her dictums. No wonder, the party cadres as well as the leaders are all support for what ever Amma wishes for...

Dr. Jayalalithaa for the post? Dr. Jayalaithaa has been aspiring for more than a decade to become PM or at least wants to be in a position to  “select a PM” of her choice. Earlier, she depended on Mr Subramaniya Swamy to do the ground work in  Delhi for her elevation. Somehow he was never able to help her achieve this dream. Now she seems to be depending on Mr. Cho Ramaswamy and Gurajat CM Mr. Modi. Maybe her new advisor Mr. Cho Ramaswamy may have also sown such a seed in her thoughts.. Every Tamilian will feel proud if this were to become possible following the next General election.  If Mr. Deva Gowda can become the PM, then Dr. Jayalalithaa is by all means not only a highly suitable candidate but also a very able one at that. In fact  7 years ago I met a former AIADMK Minister and expressed this idea to him & requested him to take up this matter with her, however, he  did not show much interest & hence I left the matter there!

Other regional leaders. To fullfill her wish she needs to get the support of either of the two leading parties - the BJP or the Congress or seek support from the third front, including the communists. There is a remote possibility of Mr. Modi supporting her in the event of BJP not staking claim  to rule at the Centre. But will Sushma Swaraj allow this for she has her own aspirations. The media has already lined up few candidates from the regional parties and Mr. Nitsh Kumar, Bihar CM is considered a strong possibility... If Mayawathi retains power in the upcoming assembly elections in  UP, the media might even annoint  her as the next PM. The media has also often thrown up the names of the less ambitious Bengal CM as a another possibility. It is good to note here that the Gujarat CM is himself cherishing such a wish. Probably  he might in turn be looking for support from Dr.JJ. Between them, it is only give and take policy, “either you become or support me”. Mr. Modi is expected to be in Tamil Nadu in mid- January. There are reports that claim that he will be meeting up with his counterpart in Chennai.

  

Seats Matters: To ensure that Jayalalithaa is the choice for the PM’s post, her party should have a sizable number of seats at her command; let us say a minimum of 30 seats provided no national party has 125 seats or more. Her intention is to completely sweep the entire 39 seats from TN and the lone seat from Pondicherry. As things stands now, she / her party may be able to get a maximum of 20 seats provided there is no crisis in the state before the General Elections. The less the number of seats, the less the probability of her playing any role and the vice versa. Aiming for a  bigger role for her and for her party is not inappropriate but in keeping with the political ambitions of most regional parties. Only time will tell if the the dear leader of AIADMK cadres will become the head of the Nation. But given that there has already been precedents of regional leaders like  Mr.Deva Gowda (despite the fact thtat he lacked mass appeal) becoming the Prime Minister, it would be tardy to rule out Jayalalithaa chances.

Conclusion: If the Congress emerges as the single largest party in UP, one can be rest assured that Congress will form the Government at the centre with Mr.Rahul Gandhi as PM. Only in the case of this eventuality will the dreams and hopes of all the other regional leaders be crushed!r