The way is clear for MK Stalin to take over the mantle as President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a post that his now-deceased father M Karunanidhi had held
for decades. With all 65 district secretaries unanimously supporting his candidature and since his was the only nomination, the formal announcement,Tuesday is now only a formality. For now, there is little scope for dissent, even as the Karunanidhi
family itself is deeply divided.
To the credit of Karnunanidhi, he has not left the party orphaned. In recent years he has put in place a line of succession by selecting and keeping Stalin at the head of the party, but a step below himself. That had Stalin functioning in two major capacities when his father was alive: as working president of the party since 2017; and as deputy chief minister under Karunanidhi as CM from 2009 to 2011. In a scenario where some of Karunanidhi’s other sons and daughters tried to emerge as major power centres, the rank and file was left with no confusion as to who would succeed the ageing leader after his demise. This was unlike the scenario in the AIADMK, where J Jayalalitha at its head for many years consciously avoided creating a succession line and left it to the party to choose the next leader.
Both styles have their merits and demerits. In a democracy, the people are the ultimate authority to decide who should lead them. Though there is considerable confusion in the AIADMK after Jayalalitha’s demise, the next elections would show who will emerge as the tallest leader in the present ruling party in the state. The positive side of Karunanidhi’s decision to line up a successor meant that there is no confusion at present. But, the smooth power transition in the DMK now is perhaps only an eyewash The other powerful leaders in the party, namely Stalin’s brother MK Alagiri, is unlikely to remain silent for long. How dissent would shape up in the party is not easy to foresee,
though.
For now, Stalin would call all the shots in the party, and he is sure to set himself on the course to grabbing power in the state in the next assembly polls four years hence; or he
might even try and pull down the present shaky AIADMK ministry sooner than later. His would now be the last word in the party, and he could go any length unlike in the times when his father took all the decisions. Stalin’s smooth succession as the DMK president means he would now demonstrate the strength to effectively lead the party. It sends out significant signals to national politics as well.