Most political parties in India with the exception of BJP and ‘Left’ are closely held family enterprises. Ascendancy to key party positions is pre-determined by winning the genetic lottery of birth in to the controlling family. To be fair, many of these family controlled parties do not pitchfork their family members brazenly in to political limelight. With help of senior party functionaries and media spindoctors, the descendant's initiation is carefully calibrated and skillfully stage-managed. Crisscrossing rural India in SUV’s under the garb of poverty roadshows appears to be latest preferred route. However when it comes to the Kalignar Karunanidhi family enterprise operating in TN, there are no such tentative steps. In the last few years, every member of his family with political aspiration has been quickly accomodated in the power structure. But despite this,bitter political battle is being played out in the First Family of TN politics
Karunanidhi family saga is unfolding like one of those soap operas that are aired in several of his family channels,often with tremendous TRP rating ('Revolutionary' schemes like free color TV s have easily made TN the state with best TV density). Aging patriach, warring wives, feuding families, estranged nephews, billion dollar business interests, political power, Dravidian vs Aryan subplot, literature, poetry, Ramayana, Asuras, tinsel town connection, private jets are intoxicating ingredients of this spectacular family drama. Ofcourse if Chieftain himself is to believed all these battles are part of the war waged to rescue the pauperised ‘Dravidians’ from the ‘Aryan’ exploitation
Two recent family events accentuated the faultlines running through the extended family of Kalignar Karunanidhi
First was the 85th birthday celebration of Kalignar Karunanidhi.He might be ruing his decision to give in to the collective persuasion of ‘Aru kodi Tamizhargal’ and retract his original plan of spending a quite and blissful birthday. Family squabbles burst out in the open marring this solemn occasion. His elder son Azhagiri apparently refused 'permision' to Maran family to wish the chieftain on his birthday
Second was the party event marking the coronation of Kanimozhi as the rising political demigoddess of Tamil Nadu. Kazha Kanmanigal congregated in massive numbers in Cuddalore to attend the DMK’s Women conference. Media touted the event as basically another display of strength by the anti-Stalin faction of DMK.Kanimozhi was showered encomiums by the Medai Pechalars as the mobilised ‘rationalist’ foot soldiers lustily cheered on. Kanimozhi expectedely launched a fullisade against the evil ‘Aryan’ forces that is destroying the ‘secular’,’rationalist’ ethos of Dravidistan
Kanimozhi is a suave, convent educated daughter of Karunanidhi’s partner Rajathiammal.She also had a brief journalistic career with Chennai Xinhua.A powerful section of DMK saw her as counterfoil to Jayalalitha (superior English, good looks etc). Very soon she found herself in the Rajya Sabha.DMK propaganda machinery amply aided by section of vernacular press has been projecting her some kind of literary genius. Karunanidhi even anointed her as his literary successor. Given the climate of intolerance prevailing in TN, no one dared to ask question on what the alleged literary accomplishments of Kanimozhi are.Few truly independent literary voices in TamilNadu who did pose the right questions were brownbeaten to submission by the powerful Dravidian propaganda machinery
When the ugly family battle (that resulted in the death of three innocent workers) erupted in the open, Dayanidhi Maran was stripped of his cabinent post .It was widely expected that Kanimozhi would fill that vacancy. However looks like the intriguing family saga unfolded in such a way to deprive her of the cabinent ministership. It appears that Stalin family and Maran family have now buried their hatchet and are united against the Azhagiri and Kanimozhi.The bonohome is best exemplified through the incesantly promotion by the Sun Network of a terible movie produced by Stalin's son as a thunderous box-office success
Elder son Azhagiri till now was contended to be a powerful backroom operator. Karunanidhi had geographically divided Dravidistan in to two dominions for each of his son to exercise their influence. But looks like Azhagiri is increasing trying to play a more overt role in the party affairs.His stranglehold over the party in Southern Tamil Nadu cannot be easily ignored.To keep him in good humour his daughter Kayalvizhi was given prominence in the party conference .He has also ventured in to cable distribution business trying to break the monopoly of Sun Group
If at all someone needs to be blamed for letting this state of affair to persist, its Kalignar Karunanidhi.Its perplexing why he refuses to exercise the simple step of letting the mature Stalin take his rightful mantle as the CM. Many neutral observers in TN will welcome mild mannered Stalin.He is seen as a level headed, efficient politican without the acerbic tongue of his father .He has acquitted himself well in all major responsibilities entrusted to him including Mayorship of Chennai.During his stint as Chennai Mayor, several excellent infrastructure programmes were not only launched but also taken to logical completion. Stalin at helm of afairs might also signify improvement in relationship between the various Dravidian political parties in TN, as he does not invoke the kind of animosity that Kalignar invokes
Sooner Kalignar exercises the option,its better for the state of Tamil Nadu.
7 comments:
A very superb post prasanna. unfortunately all this would have been so funny if it wasn't all real. KK is 85 years old and when he dies i think the DMK is headed for splitsville. Kanimozhi is still too raw to take on the mantle of KK on her own and certainly not with her ambitious and ruthless brothers around. i think she is going to be buried by them, politically i mean or maybe not so politically if she acts too smart :).
You are right if KK dies, then DMK is in big trouble, kinda like what happened when MGR died.
Prasanna,
What will be the role of Vaiko in the post-Karunanidhi situation? Can he take advantage of intra-DMK conflict?
The split in the artificial Dravidian votebank+party has been going on now for over 3 decades (if you ignore the 1st split engineered by EVK Sampath even earlier). The first to leave were the traditional Hindu groups, mainly the Thevars, led by MGR an honorary Thevar, although himself a Nair. The Vanniyars quit, although more of them came from the Congress. Then Vaiko walked out with the Naidus (although a few like KKSSRR are still with ADMK. And then the Nadars (mostly again from the Congress) We of course ignore the various SC groups who have never enjoyed a voice in TN politics after the days of Kamaraj and their heyday in the times of Kakkan, whose son continues to wear out his body tirelessly for the welfare of all downtrodden while assorted punks pay lip sympathy. In the meanwhile Jaya's Thevar led votebank has remained intact and the communities within have found a way to keep together, barely. At the rate KK is inducting his family, he may have to fall back on his community to sustain the family enterprise the DMK has become and the minority votebank, which he is now assiduously working with. Will he soon become irrelevant to to TN politics? Let's hope so. It is time the BJP started drawing the different communities into its fold. Unlike Karnataka and AP, where the competition is between two dominant groups or in Kerala where the politics is communal, TN is a patchwork of several groups. The Gounders and Chettiars, are firmly with the Congress, and some of the Mudaliars who have benefited immensely from resrvations are with the DMK making up its high profile supporters. This is a cruel irony as the Mudaliars have traditonally dominated medicine, foreign trade (many dubashis were Mudaliar) agribusiness etc., The Aiyars and Ayyangars a small number but significant all the same show a strange pattern. The wealthy among them mainly the business groups, India Cements, TVS, The Hindu, TVS, Chemplast and Simpsons are staunch DMK supporters. IC especially is deeply indebted to the late Maran who ben all sorts of rules to help them take over the company and reschedule their debt. They have now made good with KK. The middle-class Iyers and Iyengars - the few that are left in the state - don't care to vote if at all, and even lower on the economic scale they have no voice. TN has for long had a vote hamara raj tumhara dispensation. The BJP could, if it tried, over the next 10 years change this by enlisting each community in governance. For instance in Coimbatore the Naidus and the Gounders have worked together for years to run the city efficiently. Complicated as it may seem, the time is now, as when the DMK descends into chaos, it will be too late.
Rohit
Vaiko promised a lot when he came out of the DMK.Infact he was ideally placed to capture the crumbling DMK party machinery.However Moopanar led brealaway Congress gave a huge lease of life to DMK in 1996 and DMK revived itself.However a series of electoral missteps has rendered him pretty irrelevant.He has been passionate and consistent in his support of SL Tamil cause but this has been skillfully expolited by his enemies .he might be reduced to being a fringe player in TN politics as thing stand now.His exemplary oratory skills will be handy for whichever alliance that he is part of it .After elections DMK/ADMK will see him as a threat and cut him down to size
Hi Anon
What a fascinating comment
I think BJP can secure upto 6 seats in TN if it allies with Amma.
Dharmapuri(Hosur)
Coimbatore
S-Chennai
Srirangam(Trichy)
1 in South Coastal
T-arasar seat
Wishful thinking huh
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