Chennai Corner

Some things have entirely different connotations in the state. Forexample:

• All-party meeting: If it is called by the DMK, it will be boycotted by AIADMK and vice-versa. So "all party" meeting is a misnomer. This year on the Sri Lankan issue, even parties like the DMDK, MDMK. Ironically, the MDMK founder Vaiko, who was called a "political joker" by the Sri Lankan army general Sarath Fosenka, wears his pro-LTTE tag without fear or favour, but is aligned with Jaya, the most anti-LTTE politician in the state.
  
• TN Legislative Assembly: If Karunanidhi is in power, the principal opposition leader Jayalalitha mostly stays out and vice-versa.And unlike Delhi or other states where the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties carp at each other on politics but are at least civil to each other otherwise, here, even at weddings both Karunanidhi and Jaya time their arrival and exit so that their paths don't cross because everything is personal. Bush's statement post 9/11 that "you are for them or against them" applies, so cadres walk a tight rope.
  
• Investment destination: This is a label that TN does not deserve anymore thanks to its politicians who handed out free TVs, virtually free rice (Rs one per kg), free sweet pongal ingredients for the ensuing festival, subsidized cylinders and so on, but did not add even one watt of power over the last decade. Chennai no more is a water-starved metropolis but darker days are ahead. Maybe come March/April, Vijayakanth won't have to wear a blindfold just to make a point. Perhaps that is why Karunanidhi, despite having a "Detroit" in his backyard, did not woo Ratan Tata when he was looking for a new home for the Nano after Mamta Banerjee kicked the plant out of Singur.
  
• Real estate nightmare: Chennai was a late bloomer on the real estate front and today is saddled with 50,000 potential flats down the Old Mahabalipuram Road alone being built by builders from Delhi/ Mumbai/ Bangalore that are in varying stages of construction. Nearly four million square feet of commercial space are going abegging while software companies are tightening their belts by withdrawing snacks, soft drinks, toilet paper, etc. But those who have flats to rent are still kings getting away with increasing rents anywhere from 40-100 per cent.

• Karunanidhi: About the reunion or when Kanimozhi will join cabinet
• Jayalalitha: About corruption charges against her or Sasikala's family's role
• PMK Ramadoss: Who he is going to align with/ the trees cut by his Vanniyar Sangham men in 1987
• Vaiko: About Rajiv Gandhi's assassination
• T R Baalu: About the Sethusamudram project and its viability
• Vijayakanth: About Jayalalitha, particularly after she called him a "drunk"
• Director Shankar: About his lavish spending for Endhiran considering Rajanikanth's last film Kuselan was a dud and Aishwariya is not a bankable star even in Bollywood
• Rajanikanth: About his political plans
• Mayor Subramaniam: About flooding because under his watch, one hour of rain is all it takes for Chennai city to turn into Venice without the gondolas
• Kamal Hasan: About why he did not take Asin's double role in addition to his other 10 in Dasavataram.
• Nayanthara: About her rival Asin's Bollywood debut and when she will get there

• Knowledge city: The crown still belongs here not just because IIT is here. 
• Tradition: The crown still belongs here -- classical music and dance still rule despite Bollywood music and jhatkas and matkas.
• Conservative: The crown still belongs here so if you are gay, stay in the closet.
• Respect: The crown still belongs here except in an encounter with auto drivers. As a friend said, three trips in an auto here and you may as well buy your own auto. People are gentle, respectful if you can ignore the propensity "to poke their nose in others' business" (yes, it's an expression very much in use here)
• Safety: The crown still belongs here. In a bus, people will get up for "ladies" mostly; young girls are still safe although most are not allowed to venture alone at night by parents.
• Labels: The crown belongs here because people love to flaunt their education/ achievements not to mention their long initials, eg, KKSSR
• Trendy: The crown does not belong here because woman lean towards conservative dressing rather than spaghetti straps

It seemed that the happy family portrait that the paterfamilias, CM and DMK chief M Karunanidhi, presented when he got his sons, Azhagiri, and Stalin to mend fences with Sun TV siblings Kalanithi and Dayanidhi Maran would go into the family album. But the cynics who predicted that the reunion of December 1 would not last, have been proved right. It's unraveling bit by bit and not surprisingly while DMK politics is poised for a beating, the Marans have showed they have it all together and the reunion was a win-win situation for them,business-wise.

The first signal that the grand reunion did not go down well with the first family came when ambitious Kanimozhi, who was sent to the Rajya Sabha and became her dad'spoint-person in Delhi, was conspicuously absent in the portrait. Her insecurity about Dayanidhi Maran played out when the latter was just as conspicuously left out when Karunanidhi took his party MPs to Delhi to meet the PM on the Srilankan issue.

Now Stalin is desperately trying to stave off speculation that he and his brother Azhagiri are back to square A-- that is, back to being rivals. The reunion was supposed to show via Sun TV that Azhagiri had more to him that the muscleman image he had acquired. But after his sulking act-- he publicly declined charge of the Thirumangalam bypoll campaign entrusted by his father-- what is going to stick in the public mind is that he is volatile and unreliable. "What will you do if I'mdead?" he bit out when the candidate, Latha Adhiyaman, who was vetted and anointed by the DMK leadership, wrung her hands before him. Azhagiri claimed health reasons-- a cataract at the ripe old age of 56! -- for abdicating, but it is no secret that he was unhappy withthe choice of Latha. A baffled Stalin begged: "I know you can't come to the field, but give us directions from your home. Tell us what to do and we will do it." Now Azhagiri has had a change of heart and he's back leading the campaign.But will voters have a change of mind about how unpredictable he is?

The DMK is in a tizzy because they say a blade of grass does not move in Thirumangalam unless Azhagiri gives the order. In the 2001 elections, Azhagiri reportedly worked against some DMK candidates, and even caused the defeat of the late Speaker PTR Palanivel Rajan. Whereas in the last two bypolls, his support saw DMK candidates winning. Now that he is helming this bypoll, he says he will make a hat-trick happen.

The fact that Kalanithi and Dayanidhi Maran rushed with Stalin to a hill resort near Pollachi (a few kilometers from Coimbatore) where Azhagiri had adjourned last week, indicates that the latter is not sulking only for political reasons. Being unhappy with the choice of a candidate is just a cover. The factis that the Marans TV empire is flourishing (last year Kalanithi was the only billionaire from the South with a net worth of 1.9 billion) and they have moved fast post-reunion to consolidate their business. One sign that they have deep pockets is that they have taken over as producers of the Rs 165 crore Rajanikanth-Aishwariya starrerEndhiran, being touted as the costliest film ever made. Now there's talk that the Marans met Sarath Reddy, the MD of Kalaignar TV which was launched by the Karunanidhi clan last year after the rift with the Marans. Interestingly, Sarath and his team had migrated from Sun TV to start Kalaignar TV. Also, Arasu Cable Corporation, started by the DMK government, was floundering but now with the Marans giving access to its bouquet, things are looking up. Things may also be SUN-ny for Dayanidhi politically because he took his old place behind Karunanidhi for a photo-op with LathaAdhiyaman. 

For four months this year, starting in mid-April, Jayalalitha was missing in action. She appeared in public to do a jig with Badaga tribals in May and then sequestered herself behind the walls of her sprawling Kodanadu estate in Ooty. While official statements still appeared taking jibes at the government,Karunanidhi and Vijayakanth, she herself was reportedly rejuvenating herself through Ayurveda and long walks at her estate. At least fourtimes, it seemed, she almost returned but changed her mind and went back to her splendid isolation. But since her return, she has been feisty, targeting Azhagiri, the government, Karunanidhi and Vijayakanth through two statements a day. It seemed for a while that the Marans had gone soft on her-- even giving her meeting in Theni in September live coverage, apart from carrying all her statements. The Maran paper Dinakaran was studded with advertisements from her partymen on her 60th birthday on February 24, which she marked by garlanding Sasikala Natarajan at a temple.Many salacious comments ensued in a land where, starting with the CM, having a "second wife" is not only passé but almost derigeur.

Still unpredictable

After demanding that the "settlement terms" of the Karunanidhi-Maran reunion be revealed, she is in attack mode calling the DMKMPs' threat to resign en masse on the Sri Lanka issue a "fraud". She kept the BJP guessing, even created the illusion that she would tie up with them after making nice with BJP leaders like Narender Modi and L K Advani, butat the last minute stitched up an alliance with the Left. There is discomfort because on crucial issues like the Sethusamudram project, she tends to echo the BJP line. But on economics and the nuclear deal, she and the left, which left the DMK coalition because of the deal, have a meeting of minds. 

Winning Thirumangalam will be important to her because she is battle ready for the Lok Sabha elections. She has built up a youth cadre that is raring to bring her back to Fort St George. Significantly even before Azhagiri declined to enter Thirumangalam, the AIADMK presented a memorandum to the Election Commission to prevent his entry into the constituencysaying there would be rigging. Now that the DMK is in crisis, her chances have brightened.The only factor standing in her way is DMDK chief Vijayakanth, a much wooed politician in TN who has not fallen for any party's charms. In fact, he is contesting the bypoll alone, saying he is "not scared". Jaya needs to be scared, though, because his "karuppu MGR" (dark MGR) appeal will cut into her votes.