Elected unopposed
The DMK’S recent organisational elections, held with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha election, was marked by a unanimous re-election of most of the office-bearers.
IN THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED elections in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, most of those who already held the posts at different rungs in the party were re-elected unanimously, thus preserving the status quo even as the party seeks to build on its gains.
There could have been no better time for such elections—the DMK is back in power in the State after a decade and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the party which has ruled Tamil Nadu the longest, is a pale shadow of its former self because of infighting and dissent.
The DMK’S long-drawn-out 15th organisational elections wound down on October 9, with party president M.K. Stalin and senior leaders getting elected unopposed to the top posts. In all, seven district secretaries have been replaced, representing the biggest change in the party hierarchy in this round of elections. Of the 72 “DMK districts”, elections were held in 71 and the process was completed by the first week of October.
Stalin, who is also Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since May 2021, took over the party’s reins in 2018 after the demise of his father and DMK president, M. Karunanidhi. He has been elected to the post for the second time. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the 2021 Assembly election, both of which the party fought after he first took over as president, the DMK, along with its allies, scored impressive victories.
On October 9, Arcot N. Veeraswami,
party veteran in charge of conducting the election to the post of president, announced that Stalin has been elected unopposed. In his acceptance speech, Stalin’s emphasis was on party ideology, defining who the opponent was, being ever watchful of those wanting to discredit the party, and treating the 2024 Lok Sabha election as a precursor to the 2026 Assembly election.
‘BJP WILL DO ANYTHING’
He did not mince words on who the opponent was and what that party was capable of doing. Addressing members of the DMK general council, he said: “The Lok Sabha elections are nearing. By winning the 40 constituencies in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, we have to emerge as an important force in all India politics. There is no room for complacency. Do not forget that this will form the base for our endeavour to win the next Assembly election. The BJP will do anything to win the next Lok Sabha election. Do not forget that the BJP will plumb any depth in politics [to win]. Because they don’t have any achievements to speak of, they resort to defaming us…. Because the people of Tamil Nadu do not mix religion with politics, the BJP is gasping for breath.”
The most effective way to counter the BJP was to set the DMK’S house in order, make sure that everyone
had a role to play in the party, and walk forward together. Stalin wanted the newly elected members of the DMK’S most powerful body to begin the process of formation of booth committees and requested them to complete this work in the next two months. He also wanted them to interact more with the people to counter the lies and propaganda of the BJP and the AIADMK. He wanted the second-rung leaders to carry all sections of the party with them in this endeavour.
Even when talking about DMK men holding positions of power in government, Stalin was clear in outlining his concerns. Referring to some embarrassing moments of DMK Ministers, which had gone viral on social media, Stalin informed the general council that each morning he woke up hoping that there was no new controversy created by DMK’S elected representatives. “Sometimes I am unable to sleep,” Stalin confessed; and its importance was not lost on the DMK men on stage and in the front rows. He reminded them that there were no longer any private spaces for elected officials or party men; the camera was everywhere.
The DMK has had only three leaders at the very top since its inception—c.n. Annadurai, the founder, Karunanidhi and Stalin. Annadurai, was the undisputed head (the post was general secretary then), until his death in 1969. Karunanidhi succeeded him and remained at the helm for 49 years. In 1969, Karunanidhi changed the designation from general secretary to president.
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
Minister Durai Murugan, the incumbent general secretary and the party’s parliamentary leader, and T.R. Baalu, the incumbent treasurer, were also elected unopposed. Durai Murugan was elevated as general secretary after the demise of K. Anbazhagan, a nine-time general secretary, in 2020. Baalu, earlier principal secretary, was elevated as treasurer in 2020 and continues to be the party’s point man in Delhi. Minister K.N. Nehru, an influential leader from central Tamil Nadu, has been re-elected headquarters principal secretary.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, the women’s wing secretary and three-time Member of Parliament who was drafted into the party in 2007, has been elevated as one of the five deputy general secretaries.
Dinakaran, the Kalanidhi Maran-owned newspaper, had published a survey in 2007, which, in Karunanidhi’s view, attempted to create a wedge between Stalin and his elder brother M.K. Alagiri. In another survey in the same publication on the best performing Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, who was then Union Minister for Telecommunications, was shown as a better performer than even Congress leader P. Chidambaram, to which Karunanidhi took objection. In his view, the survey was clearly a fraud.
The deputy general secretary’s post for Kanimozhi is a “promotion” because she now is in the main party organisation. From 2007 to 2022, she was in the feeder organisation, the women’s wing.
Kanimozhi is today the most prominent name among women politicians in Tamil Nadu after the demise of former AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa. She had campaigned extensively in the 2021 Assembly election because the party leadership felt that she could establish a connect with women.
The other deputy general secretaries are former Union Minister A. Raja, who has been named in a disproportionate assets case by the Central Bureau of Investigation; Ministers I. Periyasamy and K. Ponmudy;
and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Anthiyur Selvaraj.
In 1967, when the DMK won elections in Madras State, Annadurai said before taking office as Chief Minister: “We have come to power. The party will wither.” Recalling this, Kanimozhi said that over the past many decades, Karunanidhi had proved that his [Annadurai’s] fears were misplaced. She noted that the party held firm to its ideology, be it the rights of the State, federalism, social justice, or Hindi imposition, and had made many of the dreams of Periyar and Anna come true.
Although Stalin has managed to keep his brother M.K. Alagiri away from the party, his half-sister Kanimozhi and his son Udayanidhi Stalin now hold party posts. Udayanidhi leads the youth wing and is projected by many as heir-apparent. Dayanidhi Maran, Stalin’s close relative, is a Member of Parliament, representing Central Chennai.
The DMK will be faced with the criticism that the party is nothing more than an extension of Stalin’s family. This has also been one of the main talking points of the BJP so far.
But, going by Stalin’s comments on the way forward, and the manner in which the elections were held, it is clear that he wants to take everyone along. This correspondent has seen pitched battles in DMK branch offices during internal elections in the 1990s. By making two acceptable faces—a. Raja and Virudhunagar district secretary Thangam Thennarasu—in charge of the elections, Stalin managed to keep the lines of communication open at the lower level and sort out sticky issues. One leader said that an acrimonious election at any level would have meant interference of outside forces.
With party elections out of the way, Stalin believes that it is time to deliver on the remaining promises made to the people in the 2021 DMK manifesto. Once the party does that, say senior DMK leaders, the 2024 Lok Sabha election will be pitched as a battle between those who deliver on promises made, the DMK, and those who make more promises without fulfilling any, the BJP. m
The most effective way to counter the BJP is to set the DMK’S house in order.