Stalin deeper into high-stakes battle

The weak-kneed administration of Chief Minister Palaniswami in Tamil Nadu with former chief minister O Panneerselvam nibbling at his political base has, by default, kindled new hope in DMK heir-apparent M.K. Stalin. So long as J. Jayalalithaa was on the scene, Stalin was lying low, having been mauled in the last Assembly elections. The mere presence of Jayalalithaa was enough to keep him at arm’s length. But with her untimely demise, he stands greatly emboldened. Ms Jayalalalithaa’s demise more or less coincided with DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s ill health which has forced the latter to not make a public appearance for some months. In his quest for making a new dent in Tamil Nadu politics Stalin has been looking for issues to rally the people around him. He took on the Centre for seeking to bring in Hindi into Tamil Nadu through the back door but that did not cut much ice. Now, he has taken on the BJP and the Prime Minister in particular for evading his requests to meet him either in a delegation on the woes of farmers or individually to discuss State issues. Stalin recently took exception to Modi meeting O Panneerselvam, wondering what was the need for him to meet a person who held no position in the government. He said recently: “As the Leader of the Opposition, I convened an allparty meeting to discuss the problems of farmers and sought an appointment with the Prime Minister. If he is not ready to meet members of an all-party delegation, I am prepared to meet him alone. But we are yet to get an appointment. Instead, he has met a person who holds no position.” He said even though there was nothing wrong in the Prime Minister meeting Panneerselvam, he wondered what could have prevented the former from meeting the farmers’ representatives who held protests for 50 days in Delhi.

Evidently, Stalin is playing politics to bounce back into reckoning. But Modi is acutely conscious that it would be prudent to cultivate the AIADMK with the presidential elections round the corner. The Palaniswami-Panneerselvam merger talks may have run into some roadblocks, but are not off yet. It remains to be seen how the events play out.