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Essay / The issue of populism in Tamil Nadu
Populism is the very idea of representing common people and speaking on their behalf. In populism, society is divided into two elites. One is the “pure people” and the other group is the “corrupt elite”. Populists fight for the will of the people and aim to represent the people and carry out their policies on behalf of the citizens. However, in this context, politicians represent different elites; for example, there would be populists representing different communities, genders and age groups. Populism has played a significant role in Tamil Nadu over the years. In this regard, it is very pertinent to mention the two major parties of Tamil Nadu and their unique way of implementing populism in their politics. As a populist, you not only speak for the benefit of the people, you also highlight the “other” group(s), also known as the corrupt elite, whose political views are contradictory. Two of the largest and most successful political parties in Tamil Nadu are the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kalagam) and the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kalagam). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayParties are parties of resistance, and especially in this regard, it is relevant to affirm a common good between the two parties – which is mutual hostility. The fact that these two parties present contradictory elements in their "populist politics" is a key factor explaining why these parties are opposed to each other and why they have different target groups. Among these, there are two different strategies: “empowerment populism” and “protection populism”. The AIADMK was heavily influenced by “protection populism” which aimed to care for, provide for and protect the weakest in society. Contrary to this fact, the DMK's populism targeted the middle class of the society. The main objective of the AIADMK was to uplift the poor and weak of the society. This strategy takes us back to the days of MGR. MGR was very famous among the castes and backward classes, and he especially enjoyed great support from the women of this elite - which was due to his roles as "superheroes" in his films, and to his consideration particular towards the women of society through speech. Moreover, the arrival of J. Jayalalitha in his party gave a lot of hope to the women following him, as it was the first time that Tamil Nadu had such a valuable and powerful female leader. Some sources indicate that MGR's portrayal in some films, where he was portrayed as an individual belonging to a lower caste family, which made the lower caste elite identify with him, and they able to accept the “real hero” as their “real hero”. MG Ramachandran represented the common citizen, being the people's representative, also known as 'Makkal Thilagam' in Tamil. Jayalalithaa, who has been at the heart of the AIADMK since MGR's loss, followed in his footsteps and paid special attention to the vulnerable in society, providing food to the poor, laptops to students and delivering speeches speech for women and low caste individuals. An interesting factor when it comes to populism in Tamil Nadu is the goods offered to different target groups. This has been happening for ages, and the recent elections in RK Nagar, Chennai, proved that the value of money and materials has won over democracy. This situation is a good example of the great success of materialist populism in Tamil Nadu. "Some things cannot be.