Poruthar boomi aalvaar (one who waits with patience gets to rule the world) – this old Tamil adage aptly fits DMK president M K Stalin.
Patience has been the hallmark of the 68-year-old leader in his nearly five decade long political career – he waited for his father M Karunanidhi's approval to step into his shoes and took over as DMK president only after his death in 2018. And two-and-a-half-years later, the 'prince-in-waiting' is finally at his throne, after shouldering the responsibility of bringing the party back to power after a decade.
Stalin would have expected a complete sweep for the DMK but the AIADMK surprised everyone by putting up a tough fight.
Neither Stalin was in a hurry to take over from his father, nor Karunanidhi was in a mood to hand over the reins to his younger son – the close he came to was when he appointed his younger son as his deputy in 2009 during his fifth and last term as Chief Minister.
‘Resisted pressure to topple AIADMK Government’
A doting son to his father, Stalin dismissed suggestions from his own party colleagues on destabilising the AIADMK government after J Jayalalithaa's death in 2016, but worked hard to capture Fort St. George, the seat of power of Tamil Nadu government, by winning an election on his own.
“My late leader G K Moopanar would often say patience pays rich dividends and one should learn to be patient in politics. I think Stalin followed the golden rule. Despite pressure and distraction from every quarter, he kept away from any manipulation for which the BJP is very famous now. He consciously overcame pressure, thereby earning people's trust,” senior Congress leader S Peter Alphonse told DH.
And Stalin had the fortune of being groomed by the “greatest political craftsman” India has ever known, Karunanidhi, who was “rarest of the rare leader” who understood both extremes – the importance of political chemistry at the top level and having one's ears to the ground, Alphonse added.
Though he started off quite early in politics – Stalin's rise in the party was not meteoric as is the case with dynasts including his son Udhayanidhi, who is now the youth wing chief and has just been chosen as an MLA.
Long road to power
To be fair, Stalin rose through the ranks in the DMK and in party-led government – general council member, youth wing secretary, legislator, Mayor of Chennai, minister, party treasurer, deputy chief minister, working president, president, and now the Chief Minister. In fact, Stalin had to wait for his turn to join Karunanidhi's cabinet even when there was no doubt that he was the DMK's patriarch's chosen political successor.
It was only in 2006, during his fourth term as a legislator, Stalin found a place in the cabinet, and was elevated as deputy chief minister three years later. A tough task master, Karunanidhi refrained from allocating any fancy ministry to his son but handed over the Rural Development portfolio that took Stalin to the state's hinterland.
“Rather than rejoicing his recognition, Stalin set out to prove his mettle to his father, silence his critics, and to tell himself that he deserved what has been given to him. He was very methodical and learnt the ropes of the administration slowly. To call him a workaholic would just be an understatement,” senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH.
It was during 2006-2011, Stalin's image underwent a massive makeover as he took charge of the administration and travelled across the length and breadth of Tamil Nadu. Though he is credited as a “good administrator”, Stalin is still criticised for his dependence on notes while delivering speeches and making gaffes.
“He may not be as sharp as his late father Karunanidhi or J Jayalalithaa, but he is just as hard working. In fact, much better than Jayalalithaa in this particular score,” Singh opined.
The bureaucrats’ man
Former IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, who worked closely with Stalin for 5 years, said MKS has inherited Karunanidhi's traits and habits such as capacity to do hard work, gruelling hours of travel, fast disposal of files, and meticulous preparation for every Assembly session.
“A noteworthy trait of MKS was that he was always courteous to officers and never overbearing or vindictive. He also gave them considerable latitude. As a result, he was very popular with officers and he could produce better results than most ministers. MKS was a good listener and open to ideas and advice. He shied away from doing anything wrong or controversial,” Shetty spoke of Stalin's stint.
From defeat to victory
The period from 2011 to 2019 was most challenging for Stalin – though the party began consolidating behind him as he successfully won over all the loyalists of his only challenger, Alagiri, the DMK suffered successive electoral defeats in 2011, 2014, and 2016, raising questions on his leadership.
He earned his father's wrath more than once for his aversion to Congress and other alliance partners – Stalin thought Karunanidhi was too magnanimous with allies. In fact, it is said Stalin's insistence on not accommodating actor Vijayakanth's DMDK in the alliance cost the DMK a shot in power in 2016.
But his father's death in 2018 changed Stalin's outlook completely. He took the anti-BJP cudgels in his hand, moved closer to the Congress, developed a personal rapport with Rahul Gandhi, and took a leaf out of his father's play book by keeping allies happy with the seat-sharing formula in the 2019 polls.
Understanding the importance of an alliance
The resounding victory ensured his standing as a leader for the alliance led by him bucked the national trend by decimating the AIADMK-BJP combine. For a person who did enjoy very good relations with alliance partners not long ago, Stalin walked the extra-mile to ensure that the alliance was intact to fight the assembly polls and trounce the AIADMK-BJP combine.
When seat-sharing talks with alliance partners were deadlocked, Stalin picked up the phone himself and explained to leaders why DMK should contest maximum seats, and needed their cooperation.
“Two qualities of Stalin that stand out are hard work and transparency. It is the openness with which he approaches everyone that has brought allies further closer to him. He will speak his mind and take pains to convince us instead of trying to force anything on us. He treats alliance parties on par and works for their victory too,” Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary D Ravikumar told DH.
Congress' Alphonse also agrees to it. “He exhibited enormous political maturity and political acumen in bringing all secular forces on the same dais against all odds. Though parties were not very happy with the number of seats allotted to them, Stalin made them understand the ground realities and reconcile to the fact that a united fight was necessary,” Alphonse said.
During his ministerial tenure, MKS was not just regarded as a good administrator but a non-controversial minister who worked in a “transparent” way.
“I can vouch for the fact that during his five years as minister, all recruitments and procurements in the departments under his charge were done strictly on merit and there was not even a whiff of a scandal. As a result, his political opponents couldn't find anything to pin him down. I hope he continues in the same vein as Chief Minister," Shetty added.
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