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ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 2001
Tamil Nadu
VETERAN VS VIRAGO
Surrounded by adversities
on the eve of another tumultuous assembly election, Chief Minister and
DMK President Muthuvel Karunanidhi is a composed man. When the S. Ramadoss-led
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) deserted the NDA to join the AIADMK, he didn't
flinch. Barely two months later, when he sensed the MDMK's IRE, he showed
the fiery Vaiko the door (see box). Neither did he stop Vazhapadi Ramamurthy's
Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress. "I've seen all this and more. Gone are
the days when I was emotionally swayed," the veteran told INDIA TODAY
recently. That sounded like an honest statement from someone who, at 12,
had threatened to jump into a temple pond when denied admission to class
VI. That was 1936. Ten years later, when Periyar designed the red and
black flag of the Dravida Kazhagam, Karunanidhi cut his forearm to smear
the black cloth with his blood.
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| ARTISTE & AMMA:
Karunahidhi's pragmatism matches Jayalalitha's egotism |
At 77, the age of emotional expressions is over.
Now is the time for the Puranas. When MDMK activists burnt his effigies
and showered him with expletives, Kalaignar (artiste), as Karunanidhi
is also known, wrote in the DMK organ, Murasoli: "Remember the mythological
story of Lord Shiva consuming poison to save the world? Now the time has
come to absorb all the venom around you to save the state." The four-time
chief minister says this will be his last election. His son and Chennai
Mayor M.K. Stalin is the anointed heir. It has been an innings of contradictions.
Once a dreamer of Tamil Eelam, Karunanidhi has distanced himself from
the LTTE's vociferous supporters. The man who plunged into the anti-Hindi
agitation at 14 is today an ally of the BJP.
Karunanidhi is nothing but a pragmatist; J.
Jayalalitha, his rival and the AIADMK general secretary, is nothing but
an egotist. Five years without power has not stopped her from being herself.
How else does one explain Jayalalitha's unilateral decision to announce
the AIADMK list of 141 constituencies? It includes 21 seats currently
held by her primary ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress, and three seats
held by the CPI. There were murmurs of protest but the lady did not care.
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TAMIL
TWOSOME
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| 1996
Assembly elections |
| Total Seats: 234 |
Seats won |
%Votes |
| DMK+ |
223 |
56.15 |
| AIADMK+ |
4 |
27.08 |
| 1999 Parliamentary elections |
Total
Seats: 39 |
Seats won |
Assembly Segment Leads |
% Votes |
| DMK+ |
25 |
143 |
44.43 |
| AIADMK+ |
13 |
83 |
41.69 |
Her eligibility to contest the elections remains
debatable following her conviction in a corruption case. Yet Jayalalitha
has not only survived animosity but even revelled in it. The one picture
that caught the collective attention of Tamil Nadu was Jayalalitha coming
out of a stormy assembly session on March 25, 1989, hair dishevelled.
She alleged she was attacked by the ruling DMK MLAs. Two years later,
Jayalalitha sat on the chief minister's chair with virtually no opposition.
The next five years she flourished every which way, impervious to the
brewing public discontent. In 1996, the people said, "No", beginning
the most harrowing period in her life, with corruption charges coming
thick and fast. The lady remained steadfast, displaying the same spirit
with which she refused to budge an inch from M.G. Ramachandran's (MGR's)
corpse on December 24, 1987, despite insults from the filmstar-chief minister's
widow, Janaki Ramachandran, and relatives.
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Vaiko: SPOILSPORT IN
THE MAKING
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The MDMK has
tested its own electoral strength just once: in the 1996 assembly
polls. It dissociated itself from the DMK and AIADMK, aligned with
the puny CPI(M) and won no seat. If the MDMK is still considered
a force to reckon with, Vaiko takes the credit. The fiery orator
walked out of the DMK front on March 31 and vowed to fight alone.
He could be the perfect spoilsport.
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SPEECH SMART: MDMK is banking on
Vaiko's oratorical power to make a dent
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Oration is Vaiko's oxygen. When he was
expelled from the DMK in October 1993, his followers resorted to
self-immolation. Vaiko made a speech at the crematorium, literally,
marking MDMK's birth. Many thought Vaiko was bound to revolt, given
his opposition to Karunanidhi's son, Stalin. The 1996 elections
saw Vaiko employing all his oratory skills against then chief minister
Jayalalitha.
Two years later, Vaiko came under the
AIADMK shade as an NDA partner. When Jayalalitha deserted the NDA
and the MDMK came in, Karunanidhi termed the bond "a reunion
of brothers". Brother Vaiko has flown off the handle again.
There's no mistaking that Vaiko and Stalin see each other as rivals
for the Tamil future. Vaiko is the ultimate loose cannon-and this
time Karunanidhi is in the line of fire.
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MGR was dear to her in many ways, sharing over
28 movies and the political canvas as well. She does have his theatrical
style. With the PMK and its Vaniyar vote bank, she has some substance
too. Between scriptwriter Kalaignar and prima donna Amma, it's anybody's
guess who will have the best lines.
-Arun Ram
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