Brand M K Stalin launched on national stage

  • | Tuesday | 11th December, 2018

Now, politics in Tamil Nadu, one could say, revolves around Stalin and not chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.Stalin has evolved as a leader. The objective is to launch brand Stalin on the national stage. Whether they agree to his stand point or not, everyone in the opposition deems it important and necessary to meet Stalin. The control exercised by Karunanidhi was such that without his stamp of approval, Stalin was not supposed to even make political statements. Only after Karunanidhi’s health condition worsened did Stalin take the centre stage in the party.

CHENNAI: From being a chick under the wings of a colossus who bestrode the Dravidian land for decades, M K Stalin has emerged with wings to fly and range to strike in far off Delhi.For most part of his political career, Stalin’s wings were clipped and his freedom restricted as much as he was groomed by his father and late DMK chief M Karunanidhi. The control exercised by Karunanidhi was such that without his stamp of approval, Stalin was not supposed to even make political statements. There were even occasions when his office was forced to retract innocuous festival greetings. Only after Karunanidhi’s health condition worsened did Stalin take the centre stage in the party. Now, politics in Tamil Nadu, one could say, revolves around Stalin and not chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.Stalin has evolved as a leader. Today he is a rallying point for the anti-BJP forces. Many national leaders from the Congress and other opposition parties including Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, and even some BJP rebels – Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha - have flown down to Chennai to call on Stalin. All because, going by public perception, his is among the very few parties expected to sweep the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. The opposition juggernaut would look debile and weak without the DMK in it. Over the past two years since former CM J Jayalalithaa’s demise, Stalin has not only stitched together a massive opposition front but has also kept it alive and kicking to take on a weak AIADMK and the BJP, whenever polls are held.Interestingly, even though the Congress is at his mercy to secure a decent number of seats in TN, Stalin is going all out to canvass likeminded parties’ support for the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi. “Stalin, by campaigning for opposition unity, has sent across a strong message that the DMK is opposed to splitting anti-BJP votes,” said JNU professor Ajay Gudavarthi. The threat of BJP coming back is holding them together, he said.Stalin’s PR team is using his Delhi visit to the hilt to make inroads into the Delhi power matrix, so far alien to the DMK chief. The December 16 function of unveiling Karunanidhi’s statue at the DMK headquarters in Chennai could be only an excuse for Stalin to reach out to national leaders. The objective is to launch brand Stalin on the national stage. He knows that the clout his father wielded in Delhi was enormous.Stalin has reached out to even Congress’s bete noire and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and NCP leader Sharad Pawar with requests to rally behind the Congress. Whether they agree to his stand point or not, everyone in the opposition deems it important and necessary to meet Stalin. His seating in the Congress-sponsored all-party meeting – next to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh – only reiterates his growing clout in Delhi.The real test for Stalin, however, will be the forthcoming bypolls to 20 assembly seats and the subsequent LS elections.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles