When he proposed Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate for the national alliance being formed against the BJP, DMK chief M K Stalin placed himself at the heart of said alliance, arguably edging out TDP supremo and Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Stalin, who spent decades in the shadow of his larger-than-life father M Karunanidhi, has been slowly carving out a space for himself since the leader’s death this August.
Since he formally succeeded his father as party president, he has maintained a consistent ideological rhetoric against the BJP. He doubled down on this rhetoric when pitching Rahul for PM, claiming he had the ability to fight the “fascism” of the BJP. There appears to be a strong anti-BJP sentiment in Tamil Nadu. The DMK may have an edge in the upcoming bypolls to 20 Assembly seats and the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. The DMK is expected to better their last performance. This would make the party’s support invaluable in the anti-BJP alliance, and Stalin kingmaker.
While the Congress’ performance elsewhere is unlikely to hurt the DMK in TN, a poor performance by the party may put an end to the alliance’s ambitions, not to mention Stalin’s own national image. Is there a danger of the DMK underperforming? The spectre of the party’s embarrassing loss in the RK Nagar bypoll looms. Further, Stalin’s style of functioning is being said to rub several seniors in the party the wrong way. There is said to be discontent and unease within the ranks.
How this will play out when polls take place needs to be seen. However, Stalin would do well to take a leaf out of his father’s book. Karunanidhi famously held the party together through long years out of power, through MGR’s exit and later Vaiko’s. This was through an apparently democratic style of functioning and constant contact with grass-roots leaders. Stalin, while taking aim for Delhi, shouldn’t lose sight of happenings in his own backyard.