Tamil Nadu is becoming the second state after Karnataka where the BJP is hoping for a breakthrough in the south. The battle is for 39 seats, in which the BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a dent in the Dravidian politics that has dominated the state for decades. Over the last months, PM Modi has been on a major push, advocating Tamil history and culture from various forums, besides holding multiple rallies in the state and its capital Chennai.

“PM Modi sees an undercurrent that we do not,’ political strategist Amitabh Tiwari said during the NDTV show “Battleground” anchored by Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia.

Even so, there is a “daunting task ahead,’ he said. “The advantage BJP enjoys in other parts of country, the DMK enjoys here. Without denting DMK vote share, the BJP cannot hope to make inroads. It is banking on PM’s charisma to bring in votes,” he added.

The ruling DMK was gracious. “PM does enjoy a great deal of attention in media space and among common people… we are happy that the PM has come often to Tamil Nadu,” said party spokesperson Manuraj Sundaram.

He, however, made two crucial points. First that there is “tendency now to distrust Delhi” — a fallout of the unequal funds coming in that has been flagged by a section. Also, there is considerable apprehension over the delimitation exercise, which would inevitably lead to lesser representation in parliament for the southern states compared to the north, given south’s controlled population.

Secondly, Tamil Nadu is state “that has been dominated by a type of politics – Dravidian or socialist politics, strong sense of identity,’ Mr Sundaram said.

The AIADMK, which broke off the short-lived alliance with the BJP last year, was critical of the Prime Minister’s efforts to champion the southern state.

“He is the Prime Minister of country and should look at states with equality,” said party spokesperson Apsara Reddy.

The Prime Minister’s approach is ‘seasonal” she said. “When polls are announced, he comes here. By reciting a few lines from Tirukkural, you don’t become a Tamil.  It won’t translate to larger seats or vote share,” she added.

There were 300 missiles or drones fired against Israel.
This included 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles.
All the drones and cruise missiles were intercepted successfully.
Roughly 50 per cent of the ballistic missiles fired by Iran failed to launch or crashed before reaching their targets.
“The missile-drone attack on Israel was very likely intended to cause significant damage below the threshold that would trigger a massive Israeli response,” the Institute for the Study of War says. So the question arises, did Iran calibrate the attack to prevent retaliation?
The strike package was reportedly modelled on those the Russians have used repeatedly against Ukraine to great effect.
But while the Ukrainian air defences have averaged interception rates of only 46 per cent of Russian ballistic missiles, the Israelis and their allies knocked out 99 per cent (total).
The strike rate was well short of Iranian expectations, which clearly did not know about the effectiveness of the Israeli shield.
But at the same time, by now knowing about the capabilities of the Israeli system, the Iranians may be able to plan more effective attacks in the future. So will a future Iranian attack be more effective and successful?
World leaders have urged calm and the US, Israel’s top ally, called on Israel to refrain from a military response, at a time when the region is already in turmoil over the Gaza war.

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