CHENNAI: Beyond the party and connecting with the masses appears to be the new mission of DMK treasurer M K Stalin.
His two-month-long tour of the State, christened ‘Namakku Naame’, covering all the 234 constituencies ahead of the Assembly elections, is seen as an ambitious attempt to carve out an image beyond the party boundaries and underline his status as the next leader of the party. Perhaps, this is his answer as to who would be the DMK’s Chief Ministerial face.
At the moment, Stalin is the one of the leaders across the political spectrum who had toured the length and breadth of the State. The mass contact programme from September 21 is described as totally different from the previous ones undertaken either by him or his father and DMK president M Karunanidhi.
Party organising secretary TKS Elangovan said, “The tour will be totally different and planned in a way that he will meet all sections of people and elicit their views. It will not be like addressing a gathering and moving on. He will interact with the people in a big way and understand their expectations.”
Elaborating, he said Stalin would meet farmers, fishermen, weavers, women, students, entrepreneurs, engineers, teachers, advocates and government employees during the visit. “For example, in an agrarian belt, he will meet their representatives and in a coastal area, he will meet the fishermen community. In Tirupur or Kancheepuram, he will meet weavers and so on. He will visit villages and meet the people to know their problems and needs. The major demands of the people will be added to the party’s election manifesto,” Elangovan explained.
Already active in social media, Stalin’s statements and comments are regularly posted on Facebook. The issues he picks up are linked to the youth and students like education, employment, industrial growth and development. However, it has also invited criticism from some sections that he does not know or care about the party’s ideological moorings and comments only on bread and butter issues.
Political analyst Govi Lenin said, “The recent trend among political leaders is to project an apolitical image to evade people’s resentment towards the political class. Narendra Modi projected himself beyond his party and emerged successful. This campaign too will be similar in style. Let’s wait for the outcome of this programme before passing any judgment.”
However, this yatra is a confirmation of the reticent Stalin emerging out of the cocoon to build a political space.