Will 2G Verdict Make DMK 'Politically Touchable' for BJP

New Delhi: A special court on Thursday acquitted all the 17 accused in the 2G scam case, including DMK leaders A Raja and Kanimozhi. This development may trigger political realignment in Tamil Nadu and may render DMK “politically touchable” for the BJP.

Here are the possible political ramifications:

> The acquittal in the 2G scam case is a huge moral, political victory for the DMK.

> The verdict puts DMK at a pole position ahead of next assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

> Extricates the BJP of any moral dilemma in aligning with the DMK. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Chennai last month called upon the DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi leading to speculations in political circles about a possible shake-up in the present political alignment.

However, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva ruled out any political realignment."We are very much with the Congress and will continue to be so. Modi meeting Karunanidhi was only a courtesy call, don't read political motive in it," he said.

> The 2G verdict gives a huge leg up to the DMK for the prestigious RK Nagar bypolls in Cheenai. RK Nagar was held by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

> Kanimozhi, Raja emerge stronger in the DMK. The party in the last five years had tried to resolve the leadership issue with Stalin being projected as the heir apparent. The stiffest challenge thus far has come from the southern town of Madurai, considered the stronghold of Alagiri, Stalin’s elder brother.

> Blow to a tottering AIADMK under EPS and OPS. The verdict may embolden the TTV Dinakaran camp of AIADMK.

> This comes as a “moral victory” for the Congress and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in particular. A series of scams under UPA-1 unravelled the Congress-led alliance at the Centre pulversing the Grand Old Party to its worst-ever performance in the general elections in 2014.

> Helps the Congress politically counter corruption charge as it attempts image makeover under Rahul Gandhi.

> The Congress will have to factor in alternative political alignments in Tamil Nadu in case the DMK tilts towards the BJP.