Campaigning in Tamil Nadu has seen an unusual influx of leaders from other states this election, with multiple chief ministers taking the field. The report says the TEJA alliance, which has more chief ministers nationally, has stepped up efforts to campaign against the DMK, a key party in the INDIA bloc.
According to the report, six chief ministers campaigned in Tamil Nadu in support of TEJA alliance candidates: Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.
On the DMK-led alliance side, the report notes that Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav were among the few leaders who campaigned.
The report also points out that some prominent INDIA-bloc chief ministers—such as Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy—did not campaign in Tamil Nadu for the DMK alliance.
Political observers quoted in the report argue that TEJA alliance chief ministers display greater unity than their INDIA-bloc counterparts, adding that the INDIA bloc appears united mainly in opposing the BJP but less so in actively supporting one another. The report concludes that this perceived lack of cohesion has worked to TEJA’s advantage.
