In the middle of the pandemic, the BJP took the issue to the court to allow the processions to continue Murugan was stalled, stopped and arrested often en-route: He had vowed to visit all the six abodes of Lord Murugan in Tamil Nadu. He announced that the BJP would go across the state to uphold the pride of Lord Murugan. It had struck gold at last and Murugan was the harvester. PM Modi Interacts with BJP MLAs from Tamil Nadu Without a strong local leader, and facing a formidable social media army of the DMK, the BJP was pretty much tottering about when the insult to the Vel presented itself. Actor Rajinikanth had shown up as a glimmer of opportunity but there were murmurs he would vanish from the milieu in his trademark quick gait. The Yatra was an inflection point in Murugan’s political career as it was an attempt to ride the social media backlash to the Periyarist grouping Karuppar Kootam, which had posted videos that contained obscene remarks on the Tamil God Murugan and the paen Kanda Sashti Kavasam.įor so long, the BJP had been looking for a handle to take on the Dravidian majors in Tamil Nadu. The setting was the ‘Vel Yatra’ in November last year, and the man atop the vehicle was L Murugan, Tamil Nadu state president for the BJP and now the Cabinet Minister.

The crowd in front of the vehicle was just a smattering of saffron but they were a spirited bunch. Motorists stared bemused at the man clad in saffron, posing with a medieval-looking spear in his hand. L Murugan showed a confident, though slightly fixed smile from atop a campaign vehicle as the procession wound its way on a busy road in the middle of a hectic work day.

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