During earlier elections, there was clarity of thought and ideas among the lead players. But the absence of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi has made the State look like a rudderless ship

As Tamil Nadu is getting ready for the “festival of democracy” or the general election, the scenario is that of watching Shakespeare’s Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. The absence of Jayalalithaa from the electoral scene has taken the sheen away from the fire and fury associated with campaign season. Whether she was fighting with her back to the wall or leading her chariot all over Tamil Nadu, Amma was the lead star in the arena. The same could not be said about Karunanidhi, who reminded one of a hungry jackal in search of its prey. With both of them leaving the world in quick succession to meet their makers, politics in Tamil Nadu has lost all charm and character.

The general election is the first major political battle in the State to be fought without Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi or such marked polarities. M K Stalin, the second son of Karunanidhi who was appointed president of the DMK following the death of his father, is a pale shadow. His first public declaration a la Karunanidhi that he was proposing Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate fell flat as there were no takers for the announcement even in the Congress party.

Stalin, who became the party president only because of the fact that he was the son of Karunanidhi, wanted to replicate what the latter did in the run-up to the 1980 Lok  Sabha polls. The AIADMK led by MGR had contested the 1977 Lok Sabha poll in alliance with the Congress. The general feeling at that time was that the AIADMK and the Congress were natural allies because of the dubious approach of Karunanidhi towards Indian nationalism and  the DMK’s demand for a separate Dravidian nation. The AIADMK-Congress-CPI alliance won 34 out of the 39 seats leaving just five seats to the DMK-Janata alliance. But after the election, MGR preferred to extend support to the Janata Party government at the Centre led by Morarji Desai.

Karunanidhi, who was in political wilderness since 1976 following the dismissal of his government by Indira Gandhi for opposing the internal Emergency and was struggling to unseat MGR, saw this as a golden opportunity. By the time MGR declared his support to Morarji Desai Government, Karunanidhi had built a flyover from Gopalapuram in Chennai to the Safdarjung Road residence of Indira Gandhi.  “Nehruvin Makale… Varuka... Varuka... Indiaye Kaappathidungo” (Daughter of Nehru… welcome... please save India) was the war cry coined by Karunanidhi, whose penchant for writing dramatic dialogues knew no bounds. The 1980 general elections necessitated by the fall of the Morarji Desai and Charan Singh Governments saw the DMK-Congress alliance sweeping the State by winning 37 of the 39 seats leaving MGR’s AIADMK with just two seats. Indira Gandhi returned to power with a massive mandate and she helped Karunanidhi for the favours received by dismissing the MGR Government though its term was to expire only in 1982. But in the mid-term election held to the Assembly, MGR staged an impressive comeback with the front led by him winning 162 seats out of the 234 at stake. The Congress-DMK alliance could win only 69 seats and Karunanidhi’s dream of returning to Fort Saint George (Tamil Nadu’s seat of power in Chennai) remained unfulfilled. But he made it a point to remind the world that it was his slogan “Nehruvin Makale” which worked wonders in 1980.

Later in 2004, after dumping the BJP over the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) 2002, Karunanidhi sent feelers to Sonia Gandhi for a possible alliance with the Congress because he was being hunted by the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa over corruption cases. The only difference was that Karunanidhi had given a small twist in his slogan of  1980. This time it was “Indiravin Marumagale… Indiavin  Marumagalae... Varuka... Varuka... (Daughter-in-law of Indira and India, welcome, welcome). It worked in 2004 too and Karunanidhi emerged as a pillar and trusted ally of the Congress. The alliance lasted up to 2013  when  Karunanidhi came out of the UPA following the Congress’ non-cooperation in extricating his daughter Kanimozhi  from the 2G spectrum corruption scam in which she was a prime accused. Publicly, the DMK claimed that it snapped the ties with the UPA because of the latter’s refusal to extend support to a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council meeting condemning the Sri Lankan government for atrocities on Tamils in the island nation. The Sri Lankan  Tamil issue had been over in 2009 itself  with the elimination of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran. But Karunanidhi was adept  in finding out explanations and reasons for any kind of situation. 

Stalin thought that he would find a place in history books  by making a declaration at Chennai that Rahul Gandhi would be the prime ministerial candidate. He made use of the proven slogan coined by his father and declared, “Sonia Gandhiyin Makane… Varuka…Varuka...” To add power to his slogan, he reminded the nation that he, son of Karunanidhi, was re-enacting what his late father did from Chennai. But in a changed context, it looked like the southern dynasty extending support  and servility to the Delhi dynasty.  Karunanidhi   would not have made such a bloomer. Though he took over as party chief in August 2018, Stalin is yet to sort out the issues with his estranged brother M K Azhagiri. There are a lot of challenges within the DMK which remain unresolved.

The AIADMK is a house of chaos and confusion since the passing away of Jayalalithaa in December 2016. Though a churning process is on in the party, it has not thrown out any  hopeful leadership material. The party is disintegrating by the day and that too so soon after the birth centenary of M G Ramachandran, the party founder.

2017 marked the birth centenary of MGR (as he is known) and the 40th anniversary of his coming to power in the State. Jayalalithaa was particular that Tamil Nadu should have a government led by the AIADMK in the birth centenary year of MGR and she made it happen through a shrewd move. But her untimely demise in 2016 resulted in the beginning of the end of the AIADMK.

There are three factions of the party functioning in Tamil Nadu. The original AIADMK is headed by chief minister Edappady Palaniswamy and his deputy O Panneerselvam. The AMMK, formed by V K Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s former live-in partner at Veda Nilayam  and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, is hoping that the AIADMK leaders would come around once the party is wiped out in the  Lok Sabha election. It is true that Dhinakaran won the by-poll held at R K Nagar, a constituency which was represented by Jayalalithaa,  demolishing the AIADMK and the DMK. But there are people who suspect that there was a secret deal between Stalin and Dhinakaran to ensure the defeat of the AIADMK candidate.

During earlier elections, there was clarity of thought and ideas among the lead players. But the absence of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi has made the State look like a rudderless ship. Confusion, chaos and commotion mark the politics in Tamil Nadu. Yes, the Dravidian land is in search of a leader and an institution to sail through the troubled waters.

(This is the first part on Tamil Nadu politics to appear in this column.)

The writer is special correspondent, The Pioneer