GK Vasan’s nomination to RS: Is there more than what meets the eye?

The announcement of GK Vasan as one of the three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, scheduled for March 26, by the AIADMK, has taken political pundits and the general public by surprise. The other two nominees are Thambidurai and KP Munusamy.

The million-dollar question which begs an answer is, “when there are so many leaders within the AIADMK vying with one another for a Rajya Sabha berth, what is it that compelled the party leadership to choose Vasan?

The general assumption is that it is the BJP that forced the hands of the AIADMK into parting with the seat for the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) leader.

Related news: SC stays Madras HC order allowing CBI probe into RK Nagar bypoll bribery case

A spokesperson of the AIADMK said that it was the decision of the party leaders to give a seat to TMC and that there wasn’t any ‘external pressure’.

When The Federal contacted senior BJP leader Ila Ganesan, he said the seat given to Vasan is purely AIADMK’s decision and that BJP had no role in it.

Even though TMC is a part of the AIADMK-led alliance in the state, it never demanded a Rajya Sabha seat nor was it a part of the deal when the alliance was struck. But another ally of the AIADMK, namely the DMDK of actor-turned-politician, has been demanding an Upper House seat for quite some time but to no avail.

Govindasamy Karuppaiah Vasan shot to limelight only after the demise of his father GK Moopanar in 2001. Within a month of taking charge of the TMC, he merged the party with the Congress on account of which he was sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2002. He continued to be in the Upper House till 2014. He helmed the party in Tamil Nadu between 2003-06. He served as Minister of State (MoS), in the ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation between 2006-09. He was elevated to cabinet rank in 2009 and given charge of the Shipping ministry, which he retained till 2014.

Related news: AIADMK fields Thambidurai, KP Munuswamy, GK Vasan for RS election

In 2014, he walked out of the Congress and revived the TMC only to find it not resonating among the public. Obviously, times had changed and he did not have the political heft of his late father to make an impact. In 2016, his party joined the People’s Welfare Front (PWF) as a constituent and contested in 26 seats only to get defeated in all of them.

Vasan was never a firebrand leader and always preferred to maintain a low profile. But his affable nature and calm disposition helped him maintain strong ties cutting across the political spectrum. Also, his stint as a minister was not marked by any serious charge of corruption. Perhaps that endeared him to the BJP due to which he has been rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat, is one view.

According to author and journalist Savithri Kannan, the space Vasan earned is not because of his skill or talent but due to his family’s proximity to Congress power centres.

Related news: 55 MPs set to retire from Rajya Sabha; seats up for grabs for southern states

“The TMC does not have any MLA or MP. The party has no strong base. His vote bank is also limited. And Vasan was not seen or heard seeking a Rajya Sabha seat from the AIADMK. But still the ruling party in the state voluntarily gave a seat to him. It is purely carrying out the dictates of the BJP’s top brass,” he said.

Speculation is rife that Vasan will merge his party with the BJP, which may help the saffron party expand its base in the Dravidian heartland. But then he is not such a towering figure who could sway the masses.

For now, Vasan has rejected all talk of a merger. So has the BJP.