States: Tamil Nadu; Out of the Shadow

India Today
November 9,1998

TAMIL NADU
Out of the Shadow

Once seen as just a backroom boy of his uncle Karunanidhi former Union minister Murasoli Maran now has a bigger role in DMK affairs and state politics.

By L R Jagadheesan

Karunanidhi with Maran Preparations are going on in Tamil Nadu for a mid-term poll. Only, it's not the one Jayalalitha is looking forward to. The ruling DMK, which conducted internal party elections in July 1997, has decided to go in for another election. The party's constitution clearly prescribes that internal elections be held every three years and the next elections were due only in 2000. So, why the sudden hurry?

Former Union minister and DMK strongman Murasoli Maran has the answer. He feels that the July 1997 elections were held in a hurry to meet the Election Commission's deadline for internal elections. As a result, the party had to accommodate several "power mongers" in key posts to ensure that the whole affair went off smoothly. But this compromise formula alienated "loyal, sincere and hardworking partymen", resulting in the DMK's poor showing in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. He now wants the alienated partymen to return to the DMK fold.

Maran's new-found interest in the nitty-gritty of party affairs is an indication of his emergence from the shadow of his mentor and uncle Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Gone are the days when the former industry minister was seen as just a backroom boy of the chief minister. These days, ministers and officials in Tamil Nadu fear him more than the chief minister.

In recent weeks, Maran has undergone a transformation. He is no more the moody, one-man think-tank of the DMK who hated to mingle with party cadres and loved to be left alone with his books. He has stepped out of his ivory tower and is taking an active interest in government and party affairs.

That his clout within the party and the Government is increasing is clear in more ways than one. Recently, the executive committee of the DMK authorised him to decide the party's stand in the election of the Lok Sabha deputy speaker and identify future electoral allies. The Tamil Nadu Government has appointed him the vice-chairman of its Information Technology Task Force. These are seen as important steps in formalising Maran's position within the party and in the state Government. However, Maran's ascent has given rise to criticism that Karunanidhi is grooming his nephew for a bigger role in state politics. Political analyst P.C. Ganesan, who hails from Maran's hometown Thiruvaroor and has known him for the past 40 years, feels that Karunanidhi has a good reason to project Maran as a possible successor. He says that the chief minister is not very sure whether the Tamil Nadu public -- or DMK cadres -- will accept his son M.K. Stalin as his heir. But Maran, a shrewd politician who has made a mark in state and national politics, is considered an acceptable alternative.

According to Ganesan, Karunanidhi's gameplan might be to project Maran as his successor till Stalin gains acceptability within the party and among the masses. "Maran is politically better informed than most of the people in the DMK. Whenever responsibility is given to him, he does his homework and justice to his job," says Ganesan.

Working in close association with Karunanidhi for the past three decades has given Maran a keen insight into Tamil Nadu politics. Add to that his contacts with national level leaders (Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu are considered close to him) and his two stints in the Union Cabinet (he was also in the V.P. Singh government) and it is clear why he is being seen as the right choice.

But there is a downside too. Despite the positive factors in his favour, the permanent frown on his visage and his irrepressible intolerance of inefficiency -- which often results in public outbursts -- have driven a wedge between Maran and senior party functionaries. For instance, at a function in Chennai last year, Maran (then the industry minister) came down heavily on Tamil Nadu ministers for not taking enough interest in the development of small ports in the state. Maran's criticism spares no one. At another function, he lashed out at the poor functioning of the Chennai Municipal Corporation (CMC) much to the discomfiture of Stalin who is the mayor of the state capital. Justifying his criticism, Maran says: "My intention is not to blame the DMK Government. I just want that the state Government functions well and delivers results in time which will ensure the party's victory in the next elections."

Unfortunately for Maran, his partymen don't see it that way. Stalin, stung by the criticism of the CMC, avoided sharing a public platform with Maran for a long time. But observers feel that though Stalin may not readily agree to Maran assuming a bigger role in the Government and in the party, he may finally adjust to his tough talking uncle because of political compulsions. While Stalin is famous for his organisational skill, Maran is known for his administrative efficiency. "Together they will be a tough team to beat," feels Ganesan.

Unconcerned with such hypotheses, Maran is busy rallying support for the "Third Front" by bringing "like minded state parties into one fold". "Blind anti-Congressism landed us in the lap of BJP. Now I am afraid that the blind anti-BJP stance may land us in the lap of Congress," feels Maran. He believes only the Third Front can prevent such a situation and predicts that all state parties -- including BJP allies like the Akali Dal -- will join the Third Front.

"The DMK and Akalis are the oldest parties which are professing true federalism in the country," he says, but refuses to elaborate on the constituents of the proposed Third Front. Interestingly, Maran does not see the BJP as a political untouchable. "We in the DMK don't practise untouchability either in social life or in politics," he replies cryptically when asked about a possible alliance between the two parties. "As of now, we are in the Third Front. I can't say what will happen tomorrow."

At the party front, Maran is busy marrying the DMK's economic policy with the changes in the economic landscape. The DMK government has been aggressively wooing foreign investors and de-controlling business over the past few years. In fact, Karunanidhi wants Tamil Nadu to match Andhra Pradesh in attracting foreign investment. But party cadres brought up on a staple diet of socialism find this shift hard to digest. A champion of the free market, Maran has taken it upon himself to teach them how the "invisible hand" can bring prosperity to the state.

Also high on his agenda is an ambitious plan to galvanise the party at the grassroots level. Maran has a plan to select 100 dedicated volunteers from each of the 29 districts in the state, train them in the values of the Dravidian movement, and then spread the gospel of the party through these missionaries. There is only one hitch and Maran knows it better than anybody else. "It is very difficult to implement this plan when the party is in power. When everyone else is enjoying the fruits of power, who would come to the service of the party?" he asks. How Maran resolves this dilemma will decide the future of the DMK -- and by implication his own.

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