TeaTamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin is in trouble. His incompetence as an administrator is reflected in the political bankruptcy of the ruling party.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) returned to power in Tamil Nadu after a decade in 2021. Analysis of its functioning shows that it is performing poorly. Unlike his father M Karunanidhi, Stalin is not as transparent in dealing with politically sensitive issues through a consultative process.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tamil Nadu earlier this month, as did other Union ministers and BJP president JP Nadda. Then there was the mega-show of the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam – on the lines of Varanasi’s Kashi Tamil Sangamam – Modi urged people to support artisans and snake charmers on his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat, and several Tamils were honored with Padma Awards over the past 10 years. Awarded. —These are just a few points which prove that BJP has made inroads in Tamil Nadu politics. This gradual and steady push has been an annoyance to the DMK and other Dravidian parties.
Tamil Nadu has been witness to several explosive political developments of late. Infighting is back in the DMK while its office bearers have been seen threatening bus operators and ration shop owners. DMK accused Governor RN Ravi to fulfill the “agenda” of the Centre. DMK leader RS Bharti also Said Which is sold only by North Indian expatriates Pani puri There are other governors like him in the state.
Roughly one million migrants from north India are working in the state in agriculture, construction, hospitality and other industries.
This shows that CM Stalin is politically unable to steer the DMK out of a series of crises.
Edappadi Palanisamy, leader of the opposition AIADMK, got recognition from the Election Commission regarding his position as the general secretary of the party. The AIADMK was also allotted the iconic ‘two leaves’ election symbol. This was a major blow to Stalin, who had envisioned a scenario where the O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK faction – much friendlier with the DMK – would wage an endless legal battle to reclaim the symbol.
In another blow, BJP state president K Annamalai, supported by the central leadership, released the “DMK files” in Chennai. It was almost as if the BJP was bringing the “Congress files” to New Delhi. The “DMK Files” is a video compilation of corruption allegations against senior party leaders. DMK leaders have said that these files contain nothing but asset details already declared in affidavits during election time. While some on social media went to town with the video, others ignored it. Soon a purported audio clip of Finance Minister PTR Thiagarajan went viral. In the clip, Stalin’s family has been accused of a Rs 30,000 crore scam. After 72 hours, the state government denied all the claims made in the clip.
Stalin has announced that a statue of former PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh will be installed in Chennai to mark his work on social justice. But this prompted Congress leaders to secretly discuss how VP Singh had “stabbed the back” of Rajiv Gandhi as finance minister during the Bofors scam.
The buzz going on in Chennai is that a senior Congress leader called up DMK leaders to express their protest against the statue, which has become a political issue. Does DMK want to send a message to Congress? This later flared up over Stalin’s hug to AG Perarivalan, the convicted murderer of Rajiv Gandhi.
Stalin has introduced two sensitive resolutions in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The first asked the Center to amend the Constitution to give statutory protections, rights and reservations to members of Scheduled Castes who have converted to Christianity. BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan and other party members staged a walkout from the assembly in protest against Speaker M Appavu’s expungement of some remarks made by them.
The second proposal by Stalin was a bill seeking amendment to the Factories Act 1948 to increase the working hours from eight to 12. It appears to have DMK allies including the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the CPI (Marxist).
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Tamil Nadu is ready for 2024
Stalin never misses an opportunity to attack and criticize the BJP, especially PM Modi. He said record It is his party’s stand that Modi should not become the prime minister again. Stalin is not writing such comments in the mouthpiece of DMK. MurasoliA daily newsletter, but also in frequent video messages to party members.
Annamalai, on the other hand, has found tremendous support among the youth of Tamil Nadu. But senior leaders are not supporting his words. The party wants to lead alone in a state where alliances are the order of electoral politics. Neither the DMK nor the AIADMK has the ability to stand alone. Unless an alliance is formed, there is no possibility of any single party winning the assembly elections.
With no sign of an alliance, the DMK is also losing its sheen among voters for not fulfilling poll promises of reducing petrol and diesel prices.
The upcoming Karnataka assembly elections will have a moral binding on Tamil Nadu politics. Home Minister Amit Shah will meet EK Palaniswami in New Delhi on April 26 to discuss the political environment in Tamil Nadu. Shah has said that the BJP-AIADMK alliance will continue.
BJP has made its strategy. To compensate for potentially saturated states where the party cannot maximize, it is looking towards south India for 120 Lok Sabha seats. In this context, Karnataka seems to be a cake walk. But Telangana and Tamil Nadu are a touchstone where the party is aiming to get 15 seats.
Similarly, the Congress is also looking at Tamil Nadu as a fertile ground for harvesting Lok Sabha seats.
Tamil Nadu has geared up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But if BJP and Modi do a hat-trick this time, Tamil Nadu will be eagerly waiting for a tough fight in the 2026 assembly elections.
The author tweets at @RAJAGOPALAN1951. Thoughts are personal.