Stalin vs EPS | Tamil Nadu’s ‘presidential’ elections

MK Stalin is the prospective chief ministerial candidate of the DMK-led alliance (File image)

With the April 6 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu drawing closer, the battle between the two major political parties — the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) — have assumed the form of presidential-style contest.

DMK chief MK Stalin and Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami have locked horns, questioning each other’s leadership to head the next government, trading charges of corruption, irregularities and dynastic politics.

This will be the first election in decades without the presence of late leaders J Jayalalithaa and Kalaignar Karunanidhi in the election fray. But their names are being regularly evoked by EPS (as Palaniswami is referred to by the AIADMK cadre) and Stalin respectively — with the promise to bring back their rule by default if they win the election.

There is a third player too. Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan is driving his party’s campaign across Tamil Nadu in the hope of emerging as a third force. He believes that in the event of MNM candidates winning and the results producing a hung assembly, the MNM could play a crucial role in government formation.

There is yet another leader, though not in the same league. Director and Naam Tamilar Katchi co-ordinator Seeman, who advocates a pro-Tamil Tigers line, attacks the DMK more than the AIADMK, and whose fiery speeches arouse the spirit of Tamil nationalism.

However, it is the Stalin vs EPS battle that is dominating the political narratives across Tamil Nadu, giving rise to the perception that the DMK and the AIADMK have predominantly converted the elections into a battle of two personalities.

Now, there are similarities in the way both Stalin and EPS campaign. Both use custom-made tempo travellers that can double as a podium for addressing roadside gatherings. It has a public address system and carries the flags of all ally members. Both the leaders prefer small impromptu meetings, rather than the big rallies, to reach out to voters. This also helps in covering more towns and villages. These modest campaign techniques should be juxtaposed with the fact that both leaders use chartered flights to cover longer distances, and the van comes in handy from the nearest airstrip.

Both Stalin and EPS addressed a number village panchayat-level gatherings, touching all the 234 assembly constituencies, before the final lap of the electioneering began 10 days ago.

Unlike Karunanidhi who was a fiery orator, his son Stalin is rather soft-spoken and follows a script while ensuring that his speeches are laced with all the political points raised by the DMK against EPS. Sometimes, Stalin’s gaffes provide ammunition for Internet memes, but he is undaunted in the pursuit of the legacy left behind by Karunanidhi.

To Stalin’s credit, he has early on admitted that he cannot match to his father’s oratory or political acumen. Now what has worked in his favour is a revitalised DMK that has quelled internal feuding, which was blamed for its 2016 poll performance.

On the other hand, imitating Jayalalithaa’s style, EPS tries to be hard hitting at Stalin and the DMK, and pooh-poohing its record in governance in previous years. He highlights his government’s achievements in fighting the pandemic and rolling out several welfare measures.

Stalin’s confidence of winning does not just stem from the number of opinion polls that give the DMK an edge over the AIADMK. Rather, it is driven by what the DMK strategists believe is the heavy anti-incumbency working against the AIADMK which has been in power for a decade now.

Besides, the DMK has retained the victorious alliance of parties, including the Congress, which bagged 38 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

Actor Rajinikanth bowing out of electoral politics citing health concerns, and, thereby, ensuring that the anti-AIADMK votes are not split, has worked to Stalin’s advantage.

EPS believes that his performance as an able administrator, which has won him admiration from adversaries in the handling crises, including the pandemic, would be endorsed by the people of the state. Politically, EPS has showed his dexterity and skills when he got the AIADMK and its co-ordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to choose him as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. This brought the curtains down on an alleged two-year-old rift between him and Panneerselvam. This rapprochement also prevented Panneerselvam from joining hands with VK Sasikala, who after her release from jail many expected would challenge the current AIADMK leadership.

EPS has succeeded in effective governance in the last few months by giving officials a free hand to rein in the pandemic, and by taking spot decisions while touring the state to review the COVID-19 situation. After two cyclones battered parts of the state, EPS was out in water-soaked paddy tufts and waded through slushy fields to project himself as a farmer-common man-CM.

EPS got a big boost when Sasikala decided to make a tactical retreat from the political arena and not challenge his leadership, thereby letting down her nephew and Amma Maakal Munnetra Kazgham (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran. With this turn, the AMMK, which is a breakaway faction of the AIADMK, has an uncertain future.

Another success for EPS was to get the Pataali Maakal Katchi (PMK) into the AIADMK-led alliance to ensure the Vanniyar votes in north Tamil Nadu came to the alliance. The Bharatiya Janata Party was also left in a situation where it could not rock EPS’ boat and had to accept the AIADMK offer of not more than 20 seats as part of its alliance.

Finally, there is another reason which makes both Stalin and EPS confident — it is the belief that the freebies they have promised will woo the voters. From washing machines to government jobs, and cash aid for women—the freebie culture continues.