The DMK’s decision to withdraw support to the UPA Government may have come as a surprise, but it’s seen as a well-calculated game plan by M Karunanidhi to regain the political space he had surrendered to the AIADMK in the 2011 Assembly election.
The DMK is no more a major Opposition party in the State with Vijayakanth’s DMDK walking away with more seats than the Dravida major. Vijayakanth became the leader of the Opposition edging out the DMK in the last Assembly election.
The recent political upheaval in Tamil Nadu over the Sri lankan Tamil issue saw fringe parties like Vaiko’s MDMK and certain Tamil chauvinist groups stealing the limelight from DMK. People in Tamil Nadu have not forgotten the fact that the annihilation of the Tamils in the island nation took place when Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and he enjoyed a major say in the UPA Government at the Centre.
Though the DMK-Congress alliance remained a major force in the 2009 lok Sabha election, the subsequent developments in Sri lanka antagonised the people in Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi did try some tricks like staging a fast from morning to afternoon in the company of his wives at the Mareena Beach, but it did not carry much weight with the people.
Even as news about the mass killings and human rights violations trickled in from Sri lanka, Karunanidhi could not take a firm decision and force the Centre interfere in the island nation.
Karunanidhi also failed to gauge anti-Congress mood sweeping the State in the 2011 Assembly election, said veteran commentator Sam Rajappa.
“Though the DMK succeeded in retaining its 35-per cent vote share, the Congress was literally wiped out from the political landscape of Tamil Nadu,” said Rajappa.
According to Rajappa, the Congress has become the new political untouchables in Tamil Nadu. “Whoever aligns with the Congress is sure to bite the dust. In fact the Grand Old Party is a burden for its alliance partners in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
When the Sri lankan Army went on an overdrive and killed the entire lTTE leadership -- including the family of V Prabhakaran-- Karunanidhi did not utter a single word. “During the last phases of the Eelam War, Karunanidhi was busy settling the accounts of the 2G Spectrum Scam and he did not get much time to take note of the pogrom of the Tamils, said another political analyst.
Under the circumstances, Karunanidhi is desperate for an emotive issue for the 2014 lok Sabha election and prevent arch-rival Jayalalithaa for entirely hijacking the Sri lankan Tamil issue. The frequent letters, she dispatched to the Prime Minister and the resolution adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking an economic embargo on the island nation added to Karunanidhi’s desperation.
With Jayalalithaa declaring that she would strive hard to win all the 40 lok Sabha seats seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Karunanidhi has to wage the battle of his life to save his family as well as the party.