Chennai: Two aspiring leaders but contrasting personalities, both hailing from Tamil Nadu, were involved in the assembly elections in neighbouring Karnataka. While one, keeping a low profile, has tasted victory and is the toast of the people, the other, handed with a high profile task, has become the butt of ridicule at home.
As the Congress surged towards a majority, the party's War Room burst into celebratory mode with songs and dance to the beating of drums. It had an instant echo in Tamil Nadu with the video going viral on social media. For, the one heading the war room was none other than the son of the soil, former IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil (44) of the Karnataka cadre, who quit his job to join the Congress.
Apart from him being a native, it was the BJP being toppled in the gateway for the south, that was the cause of relief for the DMK and its allies but among many who celebrated it online or otherwise. Also, he got the better of Annamalai (38), who too of the Karnataka cadre IPS officer had resigned to join the saffron party.
Both were drafted by their respective parties and assigned the task. Despite helping the party to trounce the BJP, Sasikanth is modest and self-effacing by crediting the victory to the party and the people's yearning for a change. He had a dedicated team of around 50 youth, drawn from Tamil Nadu and Nagpur.
Those from Tamil Nadu included students from Loyola College, Chennai. He ensured that the campaign mostly centred around the 40 percent commission and turned it innovative as well. For instance the 'PayCM' with a QR code featuring the Chief Minister Bommai had caught the imagination of the voters in Bengaluru and elsewhere.
“Never ever, I have been in the limelight like this before,” he admits. But, neither is he dismissive of Annamalai, saying “It is the people who decide which government they want. We are part of a bigger system and we do what we think is right.” Not hiding his intent to play a vital role in his home state, Senthil says, “I have headed the Congress war room for the 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu as well with the campaign 'Vanga Oru Kai Parpom' (Lets try our hand). In Tamil Nadu, I find enough space for me to engage politically and build the party organisation. For that, I want to travel more and get a pulse of the people since I have been out of the state for over 11 years.”
Till the results started trickling in, it was Annamalai who hogged the limelight as he toured the state extensively, shuttling in choppers, and was actively involved in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's road show. His focus included areas with significant Tamil population as well and his appointment itself was apparently with an eye on this crucial segment. But, the tide was not in his favour. And predictably, meme creators had a field day in running down his work in the election.
However, Annamalai takes them in his stride by putting up a brave face, saying his expectation of the BJP emerging as a single largest party proved futile. Turning philosophical at a media interaction, he said “Victory and defeat are part of a democracy and while success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.”
With Senthil expressing his desire to take a plunge in state politics, the duel between the two contrasting personalities, might be exciting. For the state Congress lacks a purposeful and energetic leadership.
