Stalin's rise: No smooth leap to the top

It is not easy to be the son of an illustrious father. M.K. Stalin has been in the unenviable position of being a successor to Dravidian leader M. Karunanidhi, who has not only been a dominant personality but also an immensely talented, multifaceted one. As it often happens to many descendants of illustrious or historical personalities, Mr Stalin, too, has had his share of pressure arising out of being unfairly compared to his father and having to meet unrealistic expectations foisted on him. Mr Stalin, it appears, has come out unscathed and is now all set to emerge from the shadows of the Dravidian patriarch with the party electing him as its “working president”. With his ailing nonagenarian father being indisposed, he now appears to be the de facto leader of the party.

In the Indian context, members of political or business dynasties have an easy and quick way to the top. But that was not to be for Mr Stalin, who had to wait patiently for four decades. Political commentators and observers have noted how he abided by his father’s wishes like a modern-day Ram or as a disciplined leader how he never openly displayed impatience, rebelled and hatched conspiracies. He turned an apparent personal compulsion of his inability to challenge his powerful father into a political virtue.

Mr Stalin was no doubt born with a silver spoon. As a 20-something son of an undisputed leader and chief minister, he clearly had an edge over his peers. But the timing was bad as his father was facing a daunting challenge from within the Dravidian movement from the wildly popular and charismatic actor-turned-politician M.G. Ramachandran. Mr Karunanidhi being a shrewd political leader took adequate precautions not to give his son an easy and quick leap to the top. Instead of giving ministerial positions to a political novice and greenhorn, he made Mr Stalin go through the grind. Before sending him to face the electorate, he was asked to win over party cadres.

Maybe because real power in an ideology-driven and cadre-based party like the DMK lies in commanding the respect and loyalty of the rank and file, Mr Stalin was cast in the role of a youth leader and given the responsibility of building the organisation, specially among the youth. He rose in the party hierarchy over the years to eventually become party treasurer, a key post. He should have learnt to mobilise men and money — has a vice-like grip over the party machinery and controls the purse strings.

Mr Stalin’s foray into electoral politics had its share of defeats and victories. Having cut his teeth in organisational politics, Mr Stalin contested in the 1984 Assembly elections. In his debut, he tasted defeat at the hands of an MGR-led AIADMK candidate. But five years later, he emerged victorious partly due to the political situation. These contests have taught him valuable lessons and made him realise his limitations and that he is not as invincible as his father. This seems to have had a profound impact on his mindset and attitudes, making him a realistic leader who accepts victories and defeats as a part of democratic process, making him less prone to whimsical authoritarianism.

In the mid-90s, Mr Stalin was in the prime of his life and possibly rightly placed to take over the reins of the party and of the state as its young and dynamic chief minister. Instead, he had to be content with being the mayor of Chennai city. Mr Stalin gracefully accepted the cards dealt to him and made the most of it. Even today people remember his stellar performance as mayor, specially in civic infrastructure development. His signature pet project — “Singara Chennai” (Beautiful Chennai) — was an ambitious bid to transform the state capital into a modern, efficient liveable city. He emphasised urban transformation not only in terms of physical infrastructure development but also of the soul of the city. It won him laurels.

The mid-90s, incidentally, was the period when even the veteran DMK leader, known for his wily tactics and Machiavellian moves, was struggling to counter the second challenge in his political career — this time from MGR’s political protege J. Jayalalithaa. During these difficult years, Mr Stalin stood by his father as the latter waged bitter battles and even floundered occasionally. He also helplessly watched the intense rivalry between the two deteriorate into bitter personal enmity which ruined the state’s healthy democratic political culture. Having seen it from close quarters, Mr Stalin in the recent years wanted to end this bitter feud and turn a new leaf. His overtures to engage with rivals politically needs to be welcomed.

Finally, in 2009, Mr Stalin became deputy chief minister. Since then he has been facing challenges and resistance from his two ambitious siblings — brother Alagiri and stepsister Kanimozhi, besides electoral losses. His response was tactically conciliatory, but it is not clear how things will pan out after the patriarch’s exit. Having learnt a thing or two from the Karunanidhi-Jayalalithaa battles and having developed his own unique reasonable approach to such rivalries, Mr Stalin is better placed to counter the Sasikala-headed AIADMK at a time when the political situation in the state is quite fluid. Both will have to prove themselves as leaders in their own right; even if they unable to match, leave alone surpass, their mentors’ accomplishments. Here again, Mr Stalin has an edge when it comes to building the party, running the city as mayor and the state as deputy chief minister, while his opponent has been a backroom player all along. As of now, he has better chances to succeed than Sasikala, but much would depend on the changing political equations and permutations.

The popular perception about Mr Stalin has undergone a discernible change. He is no longer seen as a leader who will never be able to match his father. Instead, he is now being perceived as an independent leader who will chart his own course after having waited in the wings and played supporting roles for decades. These are seen as virtues and it is to be seen how he will leverage and capitalise on them in the years to come.

The writer teaches journalism in a Chennai college