By M Rama Rao     
New Delhi (Syndicate Features): Karunanidhi’s lawmaker daughter Kanimozhi is formally launched in the Tamilnadu politics at the first ever Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) convention of its women activists at Cuddalore, a short distance from Chennai. DMK patriarch was present with a benign smile along with his wife, as senior party leader Vasanthy Ganesan unfurled the party flag on the morning of Saturday, June 7.

Kanimozhi plunged into politics hardly a year back and has been on a low key since then confining herself to an odd cultural event. She has been sent to the Upper House of Indian Parliament where also she is maintaining a low profile despite initial expectation that she would be the new DMK voice in Delhi.

Political observers are therefore intrigued by Karunanidhi’s decision to hold the women convention with Kanimozhi as the star attraction. Though often known for his brinkmanship politics, the DMK chief makes calibrated moves on the political chess board and that is the secret weapon that has been responsible for his longevity on TN political scene.

Till now the second generation in DMK has been a two-leg race with brothers Stalin and Alighieri carving out their distinct places – one in Chennai and the other in Madurai. So what role and place Kanimozhi is going to have? 

Karunanidhi has offered no inkling into his thinking as of now.  But the selection of Cuddalore as the venue for the daughter’s launch signals that he would like to see her checkmate his betenoire Jayalalithaa, who too began her political journey from Cuddalore long years ago under the watchful eyes of her mentor M G Ramachandran. And that is not an easy task. Women are considered the traditional vote bank of the AIADMK.

Significantly, the Kanimozhi launch is taking place against the backdrop of quite churning in the Dravidian politics and the break-up of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) – DMK alliance.
Karunanidhi is heading a minority government. His party is short of 23 short of   a simple majority in the 234-member Tamilnadu assembly. It is supported from outside by PMK and other allies like the Congress and the Left parties. He formed the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) with Congress, Left parties, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) besides PMK on the eve of last assembly election. DMK won 96 seats, PMK- 18, Congress -35, CPM -9, CPI - 6 and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi -2.

DMK-PMK SPAT

For quite a while, PMK founder Dr S. Ramdoss and his Union Health Minister son Anbumani Ramadoss have been snipping at the DMK patriarch. Till mid-June, Karunanidhi took their criticism in his stride. He even advised his followers not to worry about PMK diatribe. “It is their right to criticise us. They are not DMK members. They are not in the government. We should not get upset,” he said at his birthday bash.

But, on Friday June 13, at a wedding of DMK activist, in Chennai, he was in a different mood. With an air of finality, he declared: “The DMK’s executive committee will meet in a five or six days after the party’s Women’s conference concludes in Cuddalore and decide on whether the PMK will be allowed to continue in the alliance”.

He remained true to his word. On June 18, the High Level Policy Implementation Committee of the party met and declared the divorce. A nine-page resolution, adopted at the end of over hour-long deliberations said “ after a PMK leader spoke in a cheap and derogatory manner that sought to take away the DMK’s self-respect - he was not even apologetic, nor did the PMK leadership take action against him — and since it could not be accepted that the alliance had to be continued with such persons, the committee regrets to announce that a situation had emerged where the (Democratic Progressive) alliance could not go forward along with such people (the PMK).”

The speech in question was of Kaduvetti Guru, an ideologue of Vanniyar Sangam which provides the PMK its emotional and psychological base. A CD of the Guru speech is making rounds since January. The speech was disrespectful of Karunanidhi and held out threats to some leading lights of the DMK like Union Minister for Communications, A Raja.  Guru is a controversial figure. A former legislator, he is known to make fiery speeches and has many cases slapped on him. PMK has been demanding that the cases be withdrawn, dubbing them ‘false’.

RAMDOSS MANTLE

So the question: why the speech has been resurrected now and with what motive and for what purpose. Unmistakable is the fact that DMK ‘discovered’ Guru just a week after Ramdoss had accused Karunanidhi of ignoring Coalition Dharma and not consulting the allies. This accusation came on top a litany of complaints and criticisms.

Ramdoss is donning the mantle of a bruised, even battered victim. The possibility of he turning to Jayalalithaa of AIADMK cannot be ruled out since the Dravidian politics are essentially personality oriented. He considers the Karuna outburst as an attempt to portray the PMK as a party of violent elements. And that is not something new. It is an old weapon the government of the day in Chennai has been using to checkmate PMK.  Duly conscious of this political ‘reality’, PMK supremo is projecting the image of a soldier wounded while battling for the interests of Tamils and Tamil Nadu.

Both are getting ready for the Lok Sabha elections due in May next year but are likely to be held in November- December itself as the Sonia Congress feels year end would be best time for a ballot.  It is possible that Karunanidhi believes that the Sonia’s ballot timing would suit him to call for a clear mandate.

With Stalin in Chennai, Alighieri in Madurai and Kanimozhi in the vanguard, Karunanidhi may be considering the early vote will not be a gamble but worth the effort to shrug off allies on the look out for stepping stones to grow. How he will react to the Congress will be worth watching. A survey reportedly projected the Congress as a liability for the DMK. But politics is not always survey based. It is of instincts and mood swings.

DMK cannot afford to annoy the Congress till the day of the ballot. It will need the hand of 34 MLAs for survival in the assembly. Therefore it is to be seen whether Karunanidhi will show ‘anbu’ (love) and mariyadai (respect) towards the Congress and meet its demand for a place in the government.  (Syndicate Features)