02:41The life and times of M. Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: Being the political heir apparent to DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi is the biggest advantage as well as disadvantage for MK Stalin . Rising from the ranks, Karunanidhi emerged as one of the most shrewd politicians of the modern era. He jostled for space among stalwarts like Periyar EV Ramasamy, CN Annadurai, K Kamaraj, MG Ramachandran, and C Rajagopalachari.Stalin was fortunate not to have undergone such struggles early in his career. He had a pedestal — provided by his father — from where he could command respect from party leaders and workers. Karunanidhi created space for Stalin within the party, at times pushing aside his trusted lieutenants, but never allowed him full autonomy. There were occasions when Karunanidhi made Stalin fight for his political space by creating road blocks within the family.Only after Alagiri’s ouster from the party in 2014 did Stalin get the much-needed elbow room, and only after Karunanidhi retired from active politics did Stalin emerge as the de-facto party chief. Stalin did not have to take the arduous route his father had taken for more than 70 years. Still, he undertook a statewide tour in the run-up to the 2016 assembly election, which remains unparalleled in recent times.Breaking from the routine, he spent time chatting with people at roadside tea shops and interacting with professionals from diverse fields as part of a five-monthlong ‘Namakku Naame’ (mass interaction) programme. As a public speaker he has matured over the years. He is no longer wary of the media. If organised press briefings were a rarity till a few years ago, now, he occupies decent space in all media.Stalin does not have the luxury of an ideologue companion like DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan, who remained by Karunanidhi’s side, rendering political advice in crises. While his father was open to criticism, Stalin, people around him say, is not. He has modelled his administration, both within the party and in the government, after AIADMK’s J Jayalalithaa .Karunanidhi was a master strategist, especially in alliance formation; Stalin’s attempts at striking alliances have, however, not been successful so far. But Stalin is breaking barriers. He has changed the face of the rationalist DMK by visiting temples, churches and mosques in recent years.Many of his advisers are professionals who do not have political experience or craftsmanship. He is not freely accessible to his partymen though. In the absence of Karunanidhi, the DMK working president has an arduous task ahead.