PROMISES KEPT

Voters repose faith in Karunanidhi in the local and municipal body elections after he delivers on the pledges made in the 2006 assembly polls, strengthening his and the party’s position in the state

When the DMK was virtually wiped out in the 2001 assembly polls, most people had declared the party a “spent force”. With less than 30 seats in the 234-member Assembly, the party took the fancy of obituary writers. Allies, too, were in short supply. Today, even his opponents concede that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who has completed 150 days in office, has consolidated his party’s position in the state. In the municipal corporation elections last week, his alliance secured three-fourth of the local body seats. The DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) won five of the six municipal corporations, over 110 of the 152 municipalities and 28 of the 29 district panchayats across the state. In the Chennai Municipal Corporation Council elections, the alliance won in 150 of the 155 wards. In the process, it has broken into the AIADMK strongholds in western and southern districts winning a majority of wards in Madurai, Coimbatore, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli districts.

Now every political party wants to be a part of his alliance. The Dalit Panthers, earlier with the AIADMK, joined his alliance recently. And the battle seems to be for the opposition space, with actor Vijaykanth’s DMDK also strengthening its position in the local body elections. Karunanidhi set the tone on the very first day he assumed office. By implementing schemes like rice at Rs 2 a kg and free colour TVs, he managed to silence his critics on one hand, and widened the support base for his party on the other. It was a shrewd strategy based on pure arithmetic. His party’s vote share had showed signs of dipping during the last elections. That could have been because he had to concede more seats to his allies, but Karunanidhi at 83 knows all too well that his immediate task is to strengthen the party and raise the equity for his son and successor M.K. Stalin.

So whether it is extending reservation for OBCs in private unaided educa- tional institutions, giving concessions to government employees or taking steps to ensure reservation for Muslims and Christians in the state, Karunanidhi has adopted an inclusive approach to reach out to every vote bank and secure the party’s future. For instance, he touched a chord with the Dalits in southern Tamil Nadu recently when he extended reservations for SCs in villages. He also went out of his way to co-opt the influential Tamil film industry that had deserted him during the previous elections. All new films with a Tamil name will now be exempt from entertainment tax and rates for shooting in government buildings have been cut by half. And to appease the party ideologues, a governmentfunded film on Periyar is on the anvil.

The irony, however, is hard to miss. Karunanidhi is heading the state’s first minority government. Though his large cut-outs that dot the state’s landscape may loudly proclaim his arrival as a ‘maximum’ leader, he has been able to shrewdly keep his allies within the coalition. The Congress MLAs find themselves in a gridlock. While Karunanidhi may still cobble a majority without Congress support in the state, the same may not be true at the Centre where the DMK-led alliance is lending strength to the UPA Government. So while the Congress has openly demanded power, it still remains an unwilling partner. Though the PMK has periodically tried to raise a banner of revolt, like on the Sri Lankan refugee issue or when it stalled a decision on an satellite town near Chennai, it too has little option but to stay with the flock.

But, Karunanidhi has been more than willing to humour his closest allies, the Left parties, who too have reminded him they could not be taken for granted. For instance, when the CPI(M) General Secretary N. Vardarajan said, “Armed professional rowdies were engaged by DMK across the state,” referring to the violence-marred local body elections, Karunanidhi was quick to pacify the comrades the next day. He also took the extreme step of challenging the UPA Government on the Neyveli Lignite Corporation issue due to the Left parties’ pressure. This was to thwart the Opposition that had built up a campaign in the state. By stalling the divestment process, Karunanidhi not only turned a potential crisis into a political victory, but stole the thunder from the Opposition and reminded Delhi of his bargaining power.

On the economic front, Karunanidhi inherited an economy in good shape and the 8 per cent plus GDP growth is reflecting on governance in the state. A new industrial policy is on the anvil. Special tax concessions will also be granted to companies that set up shop in the SEZs. A second Tidel Park will be set up in Chennai and another in Coimbatore.

Karunanidhi’s style of governance too has found many takers. He has given a free hand to his ministers, mostly new faces. He himself is easily accessible. “He may appear to have sobered down with age, but his mind is as sharp as ever,” says a political commentator. That reflects in the assembly too where he has consistently denied a strong Opposition bench a chance to lead the proceedings, while being also gracious to admit their constructive role. The Opposition, in fact, has failed to find a foothold in the state. The emergence of Vijaykanth, many believe, may only be working to his advantage as he is believed to be splitting the opposition votes. Also, he seems to have realised the perils of overtly going after AIADMK CHIEF Jayalalithaa. It is a strategy that bombed during his last tenure. A couple of cases against the AIADMK loyalists, however, have kept tongues wagging.

Clearly, Karunanidhi is shouldering a larger-than-life responsibility and doing a balancing act amidst compulsions and contradictions of coalition politics. His son Stalin is gradually stepping into the father’s shoes, touring the state in a bid to strengthen the party. The violence in local body polls may be the only scar in the reign of the final arbitrator of Tamil Nadu.

(India Today, November 6, 2006)