Tamil Nadu was one of the only states (the others being Kerala and Punjab) to resist the otherwise comprehensive sweep by the National Democratic Alliance in 2019. Yet, in the simultaneously held Assembly bypolls, the state-level ruling AIADMK was not as comprehensively routed. TN is state that has seen seen some political upheavals lately, with the passing of two senior leaders, J Jayalaithaa and K Karunanidhi. Why did TN resist the NDA sweep? In this episode, Dr Andrew Wyatt from the University of Bristol joins us to talk about how the DMK-Congres alliance managed to hold off the BJP, the historical trajectory of TN politics, and the impetus of regionalism in the state. We talk to him about what the TN assembly elections (2021) in the last segment.

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