Lucknow, Jan 20 (IANS): Much before other parties finalised their strategies for the general elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party organised a month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.

The event was an attempt by the BJP to establish a foothold in South India and develop a north-south relationship.

A single strategy would not have been enough, so the BJP has been working on different tracks, including the Kashi Tamil Sangamam.

Incidentally, the first edition of the month-long Sangamam, held in November 2022, celebrated the many aspects of the historical and civilisational bonds between India’s North and South.

The party prepared to unite Tamil speakers with North India and thus strengthened the ground for the Lok Sabha elections.

The party wants to increase its vote bank in the southern states on the pretext of the Samagam and has been using the religious agenda in Varanasi and the South.

It is commonly known that most South Indians are deeply religious and the Tamil Samagam provided the perfect opportunity to people from different walks of life to get a taste of Kashi’s spirit, culture and cuisine.

Ayodhya, of course, was also on the itinerary.

People from different sections were brought to Kashi from Tamil Nadu in groups of 200-250 at an interval of two days. The groups were divided into 12 categories like religious traditions and beliefs, cultural including music, and art.

The students and teachers came under education and spiritual groups, while the artisans of various handloom and handicraft products came under ODOP group.

The farmers came under the agriculture group, and the traders were under the industry and trade group.

A group of people related to historical heritage came to Kashi under the heritage group.

The interactions held between the local groups and visiting groups of the same categories, allowed the people from Tamil Nadu to understand how the BJP government had benefitted their counterparts in the north.

The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Samagam in a traditional Tamil outfit and his speech had a smattering of Tamil, served as an icing on the cake.

A senior BJP leader who played a crucial role in organizing the Samagam, explained, “Politics in north and south India has always been divided when it comes to leadership. Our attempt was to showcase the fact that there are leaders like Modi who can be acceptable to both –north and south. The delegations that came to Varanasi were overwhelmed at the hospitality and acceptability that they experienced in Kashi. The experience has brought people form different parts of the country together.”

Rahul Rai, a sari shop owner, said that after the Samagam, he is in touch with some members of the delegation who bought Banarasi saris from his store.

“Some of them are in touch with me on WhatsApp and one of them even brought about a dozen saris last week for his daughter’s wedding. This is what the Samagam has done for us -- brought us closer,” he said.

Political analyst Ratan Mani Lal said that among the southern states, Tamil Nadu will be a challenge for the BJP to establish a stronghold in and it has already reached Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The party is trying to pave its way through their cultural heritage.

Political benefits can be gained by increasing social interaction. He further said that Tamil people may not have a sense of liking for Hindi but do have one for Sanskrit.

Chamu Krishna Shastri, Chairman, Bhartiya Bhasha Samiti, and convenor of Tamil Samagam, said that the idea of Kashi Tamil Samagam was conceived by the Prime Minister to strengthen the unity of the country and to fulfil the concept of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.

Shastri said that the relationship between Kashi and Tamil is millennium old which is not just religious but spiritual, educational and commercial as well. The aim of this programme was to bring people closer through language and its propagation.

He said that the people of Kashi should understand the old Tamil heritage and the journey of development and knowledge.

Shastri said that the programme has helped a lot in ending the hatred of language which is being spread through social and other media in the state.

Interestingly, now there is talk of the government considering a Tamil Ayodhya Samagam, for there is a town in the state named Ayothiapattinam, corresponding to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, the birthplace of Lord Rama.