IN an impressive repeat performance, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)—Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) combine delivered a mortal blow to the rival AIADMK and the Indian National Congress (INC) in the recent local body elections in Tamil Nadu. The front swept all six urban corporations of the state and captured over 80 per cent of the other bodies.
After a gap of a quarter century, the Madras Corporation, now the Chennai Corporation, will finally have a democratically elected head. M.K. Stalin, son of DMK president M. Karunanidhi and the party’s youth wing secretary, defeated his nearest rival and AIADMK-Congress-backed Janata candidate V.S. Chandralekha by a whopping margin of 4.37 lakh votes. Says Stalin: "My victory has put to rest all the gibberish about family rule and dynastic succession." The Opposition parties’ single point during the campaign was that Karunanidhi was trying to politically foist his son. The resounding victory also means that the DMK has managed to do what the AIADMK could never do during its four-term rule in Tamil Nadu since 1977. "In a sense,the DMK’s victory will help the smooth functioning of the local bodies as it is the ruling party at the state level also and hence the transfer of powers, funds and delegation of work will be easier", observe senior bureaucrats.
The most significant aspect of the results is the humiliating defeat of the AIADMK. In its silver jubilee year, the party is facing near obliteration. Most of its former leaders are being incarcerated and this as well as their reclusive leader’s decision not to canvass have demoralised the cadre. Says a senior leader who has been trying to dislodge Jayalalitha from the party leadership: "Who would have imagined the DMK occupying all the three layers of power in the country a year ago—it has four Union ministers, absolute majority in the state assembly and total control of the grassroots administration." The voters of Tamil Nadu have given a clear verdict. Jayalalitha’s half-hearted attempts to refurbish her image by ‘distancing’ herself from Sasikala and her family has cut no ice with the electorate. The party drew a blank in all six mayoral seats, lost the city corporations and has a marginal presence in the urban bodies. And in its traditional rural stronghold, it managed to secure less than 10 per cent of the administrative bodies.
Interestingly, none of the few victorious candidates used Jayalalitha’s name or photographs for their electioneering process. The already splintered party is expected to witness more internal turmoil as the demand for Jayalalitha’s resignation is coming both from the leaders as well as the cadres. However, Jayalalitha is reluctant to quit the party post as that’s the only shield she has against the criminal proceedings mounting against her.
The surprise winner in the hustings is MDMK led by V. Gopalsamy. The party which failed win to even a single assembly seat five months ago, managed to secure chairmanship for six municipal councils and 22 town panchayats. Though its performance was limited to southern Tamil Nadu, it has the potential to occupy the slot vacated by the AIADMK in rural Tamil Nadu. The worst victim, however, was the INC. It lost almost everywhere and secured less votes than small parties like the CPI and Patali Makkal Katchi. The success of the TMC and the failure of the INC gives enormous credence to Moopanar’s declaration that "the TMC is the only Congress in Tamil Nadu".
According to political observers, this victory may be the beginning of the end of the honeymoon between the DMK and the TMC. The results clearly show that it’s a one-horse race. With no credible opposition, the TMC leaders feel that they should change gear and start functioning as the ‘true Opposition’. Already the TMC MP, P.V. Rajendran, has openly criticised the DMK for its big brother attitude towards their fledgling, but popular party. While the fissures at the lower level are evident, the real break will come if the United Front Government at Delhi falls. At present, the sharing of power at the Centre is the one that is cementing the tenuous relationship between the two natural rivals who are forced to be allies due to factors much beyond their control.
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