No seats, but more than an also-ran: Why a small outfit is making waves in Tamil Nadu

With more than one lakh votes in 12 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu, a third-place finish in six – ahead of not just the BJP and but also the AIADMK at places – and nearly tripling of its vote share from 3.8% in 2019 to 8.2%, the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) has ensured a place for itself as a formidable player in state politics.

The NTK’s slow-but-steady rise – a wake-up call to other political players in the state – is rooted in a message of Tamil nationalism and driven almost single-handedly by the charisma of its leader Seeman. A film director-turned-politician who has shunned any alliance, Seeman is known for his fiery speeches around the idea of an “essential Tamil identity”.

The 12 constituencies in which the NTK secured over 1 lakh votes included Sivagangai, where its candidate got 1.63 lakh votes. The six seats in which it finished third were Kanyakumari, Erode, Kallakurichi, Nagapattinam, Tiruchirappalli and the Puducherry Union Territory constituency. While the INDIA bloc won all six, the BJP was second-placed in two and the AIADMK in four others.

The NTK put up its best performance in central Tamil Nadu. In Tiruchirappalli, its vote share touched 10.18%, pushing the NDA to the fourth spot. It got 13.49% of the votes in Nagapattinam, 11.73% in Mayiladuthurai and 10.02% in Perambalur, which is one of the most backward districts in the state.

A close associate of Seeman admitted they were actually expecting a dip, as the BJP’s aggressive campaign in the state took the headlines. The prevailing mood was that the DMK was certain to win in the state, and the BJP at the Centre. “Although we are relevant in state politics, no one expected people to vote for us in Lok Sabha polls. But Seeman proved them wrong, despite