Whether the entry of Kamal and Rajni into active Tamil Nadu politics heralds a new era or not, one thing is obvious that even the well-entrenched parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are becoming jittery.
Whether the entry of Kamal and Rajni into active Tamil Nadu politics heralds a new era or not, one thing is obvious that even the well-entrenched parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are becoming jittery.
While Kamal launched his new party on Wednesday (Feb 21) from the holy town of Rameswaram and from the iconic home of former President of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Rajni has stopped with the announcement on the last day of 2017. He has deliberately bought time by declaring that he would not talk any politics till he launched the party, that too just ahead of the elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly. This is obviously pretty far off because as per the current schedule the Assembly polls could be conducted only by the middle of 2021. He has also made it clear that his party would not contest the local body elections (that could be held anytime in near future). However, he left the issue of contesting the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 hanging. In card game, the strategy of Rajni is called “blind”. Here he is keeping his opponents on tenterhooks by keeping his cards close to the chest.
But Kamal came out in the open on Wednesday and there is no going back for him. He has even expressed his decision of not acting any more. Thus he would become a full time politician.
He has already proved to be a politician by not only launching his political journey from the home of Kalam, the most loved first citizen of the country and also a secular leader but also having breakfast at his home.
Tamil orator Suki Sivam quite often used to cite how Kalam described his secularism. At a function, Kalam said “I am a person born in a Muslim family, holding a candle normally used by Christians and lighting a kutthu vilakku, normally associated with the Hindu tradition.” That is how Kalam remained an icon of and promoted religious harmony in a country riven by fissiparous tendencies, Suki Sivam used to say.
Kamal Haasan aka S.Parathasarathy, born in a family of Brahmins at Paramakudi, chose to launch his political journey from a house of a Muslim, that too after getting the blessings of Kalam’s elder brother, Muthu Meeran Maraicar. Besides, he also chose to have breakfast at his home. Thus symbolically Kamal is trying to prove he is also secular which has been the banner of DMK for long. Even DMK patriarch M.Karunanidhi used to point out that he shunned casteism by allowing his daughter to marry a dalit.
Most of us journalists were tricked into thinking that Kamal might join forces with the DMK.
There are any number of reasons for such a conclusion including his wearing a black shirt all the time. Black shirt in Tamil Nadu denotes that one is a disciple of rationalist leader E.V.R. “Periyar”.
Besides, he declared last year at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Murasoli, the mouthpiece of the DMK, that he was invited to join the DMK by none other than Karunanidhi himself as early as 1983. Some of the utterances of Kamal at that meeting reminding (probably his celluloid rival Rajnikanth who was seated among the audience) of "suya mariyaadhai" (self-respect) looked as if he was moving towards the DMK. The camaraderie that the working president of the DMK and the heir apparent of the party, M.K.Stalin, showered on Kamal also was ample evidence that there was a calculated attempt to get him into the DMK. Now it is a well known fact that DMK is also badly in need of personalities who can attract crowds. With the incapacitation of Karunanidhi, and the passing away of several tall leaders and eloquent speakers, there is hardly anyone who fits such a bill in the party as of now.
But it was a sort of a bolt from the blue that KamaL chose to announce that he would launch a new party and expressed certain sentiments totally against the Dravidian parties. One among his observations was that the principles of Dravidian movement were not implemented in the State despite the two Dravidian parties being in power for the past half a century. This should have been definitely wounding for the scion of DMK first family as his father was holding the reins of the State for five terms.
Probably, Stalin might have been nursing this grievance for the past few months which exploded on Tuesday in the form of a statement which spoke of “some kaakitha pookkal (paper flowers)” trying to blossom.
Though Kamal did try to parry the question at Madurai airport on this issue by saying that Stalin would not have meant him as “kaakitha pookkal”, he was left with no other alternative except to come out with a response. "I am not a kakkitha poo. And kaakitha poo will not give out any fragrance. I am a seed and I will grow".
While political analyst and senior journalist R.K.Rahdakrishnan wondered why Stalin should take Kamal so seriously so as to make some scathing comments, political commentator Dr.Sumanth Raman was categorical that it showed the uneasiness of DMK regarding the entry of Kamal into active politics.
But the clearest among the comments was that of Thol Thirumavalavan, chief of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi. He said “some people (probably he means BJP and even the AIADMK) are actively behind the entry of Kamal and Rajni into politics in a bid to derail the DMK from coming back to power”.
I believe that Thirumavalavan, previously a very close friend of DMK, was actually giving voice to the concern or the lurking suspicion of the DMK. There is every possibility VCK might go back to the DMK fold in the next elections.
In the current circumstances, it is obvious that the DMK alone stands a chance of capturing power when the Assembly elections are held. The AIADMK, despite being the ruling party, is sure to disintegrate sooner rather than later. Already T.T.V.Dinakaran, the sidelined leader and nephew of V.K.Sasikala Natarajan, the most trusted and longtime aide of Jayalalithaa, is slowly eating into the vitals of the party. This has already resulted in the expulsion of a number of party cadres and even some leaders. Thus it is not far off for Dinakaran to become a force to reckon with emasculating the leadership.
All other parties in Tamil Nadu are just appendages and fair weather friends who would switch their allegiance at the drop of a hat.
Even the surveys conducted so far have shown that the parties of both Rajni and Kamal would definitely affect the vote share of both the Dravidian majors - DMK and AIADMK.
While Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar termed Kamal as a "genetically modified seed which would be of no use", Revenue Minister R.B.Udayakumar said "there is no vacancy (for Kamal) in Tamil Nadu politics".
AIADMK Minister Sellur Raju asked “why is Kamal meeting Karunanidhi to seek his blessing after claiming to fight corruption. After all, it was Karunanidhi who was found corrupt by none other than the Sarkaria Commission itself”.
Both the Dravidian majors know full well that both the parties of Rajni and Kamal would be left with no other option but to pillory them on the issue of corruption and gross maladministration. The DMK has the added baggage of dynastic politics.
Thus the DMK and the AIADMK are sure that they would have to hit back at Rajni and Kamal in months to come. Come the Assembly elections, there would be a full-scale war with concomitant sound and fury. And the DMK is likely to be the worst hit and its dreams of staging a return to power in 2021 might suffer a body blow thanks to two actors.
While Kamal launched his new party on Wednesday (Feb 21) from the holy town of Rameswaram and from the iconic home of former President of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Rajni has stopped with the announcement on the last day of 2017. He has deliberately bought time by declaring that he would not talk any politics till he launched the party, that too just ahead of the elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly. This is obviously pretty far off because as per the current schedule the Assembly polls could be conducted only by the middle of 2021. He has also made it clear that his party would not contest the local body elections (that could be held anytime in near future). However, he left the issue of contesting the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 hanging. In card game, the strategy of Rajni is called “blind”. Here he is keeping his opponents on tenterhooks by keeping his cards close to the chest.
But Kamal came out in the open on Wednesday and there is no going back for him. He has even expressed his decision of not acting any more. Thus he would become a full time politician.
He has already proved to be a politician by not only launching his political journey from the home of Kalam, the most loved first citizen of the country and also a secular leader but also having breakfast at his home.
Tamil orator Suki Sivam quite often used to cite how Kalam described his secularism. At a function, Kalam said “I am a person born in a Muslim family, holding a candle normally used by Christians and lighting a kutthu vilakku, normally associated with the Hindu tradition.” That is how Kalam remained an icon of and promoted religious harmony in a country riven by fissiparous tendencies, Suki Sivam used to say.
Kamal Haasan aka S.Parathasarathy, born in a family of Brahmins at Paramakudi, chose to launch his political journey from a house of a Muslim, that too after getting the blessings of Kalam’s elder brother, Muthu Meeran Maraicar. Besides, he also chose to have breakfast at his home. Thus symbolically Kamal is trying to prove he is also secular which has been the banner of DMK for long. Even DMK patriarch M.Karunanidhi used to point out that he shunned casteism by allowing his daughter to marry a dalit.
Most of us journalists were tricked into thinking that Kamal might join forces with the DMK.
There are any number of reasons for such a conclusion including his wearing a black shirt all the time. Black shirt in Tamil Nadu denotes that one is a disciple of rationalist leader E.V.R. “Periyar”.
Besides, he declared last year at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Murasoli, the mouthpiece of the DMK, that he was invited to join the DMK by none other than Karunanidhi himself as early as 1983. Some of the utterances of Kamal at that meeting reminding (probably his celluloid rival Rajnikanth who was seated among the audience) of "suya mariyaadhai" (self-respect) looked as if he was moving towards the DMK. The camaraderie that the working president of the DMK and the heir apparent of the party, M.K.Stalin, showered on Kamal also was ample evidence that there was a calculated attempt to get him into the DMK. Now it is a well known fact that DMK is also badly in need of personalities who can attract crowds. With the incapacitation of Karunanidhi, and the passing away of several tall leaders and eloquent speakers, there is hardly anyone who fits such a bill in the party as of now.
But it was a sort of a bolt from the blue that KamaL chose to announce that he would launch a new party and expressed certain sentiments totally against the Dravidian parties. One among his observations was that the principles of Dravidian movement were not implemented in the State despite the two Dravidian parties being in power for the past half a century. This should have been definitely wounding for the scion of DMK first family as his father was holding the reins of the State for five terms.
Probably, Stalin might have been nursing this grievance for the past few months which exploded on Tuesday in the form of a statement which spoke of “some kaakitha pookkal (paper flowers)” trying to blossom.
Though Kamal did try to parry the question at Madurai airport on this issue by saying that Stalin would not have meant him as “kaakitha pookkal”, he was left with no other alternative except to come out with a response. "I am not a kakkitha poo. And kaakitha poo will not give out any fragrance. I am a seed and I will grow".
While political analyst and senior journalist R.K.Rahdakrishnan wondered why Stalin should take Kamal so seriously so as to make some scathing comments, political commentator Dr.Sumanth Raman was categorical that it showed the uneasiness of DMK regarding the entry of Kamal into active politics.
But the clearest among the comments was that of Thol Thirumavalavan, chief of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi. He said “some people (probably he means BJP and even the AIADMK) are actively behind the entry of Kamal and Rajni into politics in a bid to derail the DMK from coming back to power”.
I believe that Thirumavalavan, previously a very close friend of DMK, was actually giving voice to the concern or the lurking suspicion of the DMK. There is every possibility VCK might go back to the DMK fold in the next elections.
In the current circumstances, it is obvious that the DMK alone stands a chance of capturing power when the Assembly elections are held. The AIADMK, despite being the ruling party, is sure to disintegrate sooner rather than later. Already T.T.V.Dinakaran, the sidelined leader and nephew of V.K.Sasikala Natarajan, the most trusted and longtime aide of Jayalalithaa, is slowly eating into the vitals of the party. This has already resulted in the expulsion of a number of party cadres and even some leaders. Thus it is not far off for Dinakaran to become a force to reckon with emasculating the leadership.
All other parties in Tamil Nadu are just appendages and fair weather friends who would switch their allegiance at the drop of a hat.
Even the surveys conducted so far have shown that the parties of both Rajni and Kamal would definitely affect the vote share of both the Dravidian majors - DMK and AIADMK.
While Fisheries Minister D.Jayakumar termed Kamal as a "genetically modified seed which would be of no use", Revenue Minister R.B.Udayakumar said "there is no vacancy (for Kamal) in Tamil Nadu politics".
AIADMK Minister Sellur Raju asked “why is Kamal meeting Karunanidhi to seek his blessing after claiming to fight corruption. After all, it was Karunanidhi who was found corrupt by none other than the Sarkaria Commission itself”.
Both the Dravidian majors know full well that both the parties of Rajni and Kamal would be left with no other option but to pillory them on the issue of corruption and gross maladministration. The DMK has the added baggage of dynastic politics.
Thus the DMK and the AIADMK are sure that they would have to hit back at Rajni and Kamal in months to come. Come the Assembly elections, there would be a full-scale war with concomitant sound and fury. And the DMK is likely to be the worst hit and its dreams of staging a return to power in 2021 might suffer a body blow thanks to two actors.