One of the most defining qualities of MK Stalin is the way he reacts to threats to his throne – the moves and manoeuvres that have sought to dislodge him from the position of power he holds within the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). And, there have been many.
Ever since Kalaignar Karunanidhi weakened his hold on the party — it started at least a couple of years before his death in August 2018 — MK Alagiri has been a thorn in the flesh of Stalin, coming up with claims to inherit the party’s legacy. The most recent one being ahead of the elections Stalin just won.
At all these times, Stalin’s reaction has been standard – stony silence. He doesn’t say a word. With well over a decade’s political experience behind him, Stalin has, perhaps, acquired the biggest skill of all — to not react where it is possible to overlook.
As he ascends to newer heights in his personal journey, and Tamil Nadu’s political one, it is perhaps this quality that Stalin may require more when he navigates the treacherous and confusing paths of governance. Should he feel disoriented, considering the enormity of the task at hand, then all he needs to do is merely have a look back at his journey.
Stalin, thought up as Ayyadurai (portmanteau of Periyar Ayya and Annadurai), but named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, entered active politics at a very young age. Pictures of a teenage Stalin, his well-groomed hair parted in the way his father pretty much trademarked it, atop a campaign vehicle and campaigning for DMK are oft-circulated to negate the dynasty charge.
For Stalin, though, the growing up and youthful experiences have been part of the Dravidian journey in Tamil Nadu itself. An often-repeated story is that of the harassment he faced in school for being Karunanidhi’s son (it was the days of the anti-Hindi agitations); during the days of The Emergency, he was picked up for his father’s opposition to the restrictions. The torture in jail and the sacrifice of DMK’s Chitty Babu, who died in an attempt to save Stalin from the wrath of the jailers, are hallowed stories told to energise cadre when the chips are down.
As he progressed through the years, some toes were trod upon — Vaiko, firebrand political leader who mixed violent vocabulary with Dravidian thought to fire up passions during speeches — struck out on his own after Karunanidhi made it clear that Stalin’s growth cannot be curtailed. It took several decades for Vaiko and Stalin to bury the hatchet and get back on good terms. MK Alagiri, the party’s top gun in the South, left purely because of what he saw was an irreversible lean towards Stalin. In fact, he was dismissed from the party.
Stalin received administrative experience as Mayor of Chennai, which he became in October 1996. This was after the DMK swept the elections after a five-year chaotic, grievance-ridden term of J Jayalalithaa. He was Mayor again in 2006 and later elevated to ministerial positions when DMK next came to power between 2006 and 2011. He was deputy chief minister during the last two years of that term.
For DMK, the setback of May 2016 was a serious one. Jayalalithaa had been ruling for five years and the broad expectation was that the power would automatically alternate to DMK. It didn’t. Vaiko banded VCK’s Thirumavalavan and “Captain” Vijayakant to form The People’s Welfare Front, effectively blocking anti-Jayalalithaa votes to be cornered by the DMK. The blame was also laid at the door of Stalin for having missed the obvious point in the Captain-led Third Front.
For Stalin, the last decade has been one of doing and undoing. He took the effort to turn himself from Karunanidhi’s son into a Dravidian leader in his own right. From making modern, video-led digital campaign plans to hiring laptop-toting poll strategists to reaching the peak of cultivating impression with a carefully curated hairpiece, Stalin left no stone unturned.
After the death of Jayalalithaa, and that of Kalaignar Karunanidhi, Stalin was finally on his own, removed from the shadow of these towering leaders. Under his leadership, the DMK swept the 2019 Parliamentary elections, winning all but one seat in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Pollsters said Stalin has “arrived.” This election sheds all doubts about his electioneering, even as demerits like his obvious incapability to speak without notes or coming up with repartees, which made his father a legend, continue to haunt him.
Going forward, as Stalin enters the realm of administrative politics as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a hostile Delhi could test his mettle as a leader, and raise the question about the implementation of the bouquet of freebies he has promised. He takes over a government wilted under the weight of a tremendous public medical emergency wreaked by the coronavirus.
Stalin is taking over as the storm clouds are rolling in. The question is: Will he deliver?
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