Election Overdrive

Home Minister P Chidambaram seems to be working overtime to retain his Sivagangai Parliamentary seat. Almost every other week, we do see him participating in some function in his constituency. If you observe the news items quite closely you will notice that most of the functions were inauguration of bank branches, extension counters, self-help groups etc. Bank of India, Indian Bank, UCO Bank and State Bank of India are the banks which had recently expanded operations in the constituency. 

Union home minister P Chidambaram needs to woo nearly two lakh voters in Alangudi in Pudukottai district and more than a lakh of voters in Maanamadurai, previously in Ramanathapuram constituency. Chidambaram has inaugurated several bank branches in this rural segment, frequently touring his turf and interacting with a wide cross-section of the electorate. The high-profile MP has already begun organising workers' meetings to prepare them to build a fresh voter base for him in these regions. (Link)

Any layman can easily interpret that the erstwhile FM is trying to use his powerful office to influence Public Sector Banks to go on an expansion drive in this particular constituency. Since PC is participating in the event, the Bank Chairmen make it a point to take part in the launch events. Given the location of this district, it probably takes 2-3 days time of such Bank Chairmen (who are usually based in Mumbai / Kolkata as the case maybe). I’m not sure whether it makes sense for such Chairmen to even grace the occasion as this new branch (having a strength of about 2 – 10 people) could be quite insignificant in the whole scheme of things. The Banks also take out huge full page ads in national and regional dailies to announce the branch inauguration. This is again a big drain on the bank's resources. Let’s see if PC’s attempts to increase his image work to his favour in the elections. I’m also curious to see if PC’s son Karti gets a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha Polls.

All In The Family

(Courtesy: Dinamani)

Azhagiri's Fancy Dress

30th Jan happens to be MK Azhagiri's birthday and it would have hit you in the eye if you had opened any Tamil newspaper today. Even Dinamalar (Madurai Edition), which is not viewed as close to the DMK has multiple pages of ads given by the udanpirappugal.

Where else could one see such quotes as Aatral Arasae, Pandiya Nedunchezhiyanae, Raja Raja Chozhanae, Hat Trick Nayakanae, Kaviya Thalaivanae, Kalachuvadae, Obama of India, Kutti Kalaingarae, Thirumangalathai vendredutha Thiruvae, et al, as the list continues.

Earlier, Azhagiri was hailed as Anjanenjan Azhagiriyae, but the ‘n’ has been replaced with ‘r’ changing into Anjanenjar Azhagiriye, because calling anyone as anjanenjan is derogatory. 

One hoarding in Nagercoil portrayed him in police uniform; however, the most intriguing one was his portrayal as ‘Hitler, who overcomes challenges’ that has baffled many in the city. But, whether it was an eponymous error or ignorance about Adolph Hitler on the designer’s part remains unclear. (Link)

Wise Chancellor?

RT Sabapathy Mohan, Vice Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is no stranger to controversy. He owes his post to his allegiance to the DMK and time and again, the man tries to promote the party in his official capacity. Few months ago, Sabapathy Mohan used University funds to congratulate the CM on some achievement and now he has been caught in yet another controversy. The VC was a Chief Guest at a sports event and he seems to have gone out of the way to promote the DMK. 

  

The girls of the winning team were flashing a ‘V’ sign, indicating victory and this seemed to remind the Vice-Chancellor of the two leaf sign of the AIADMK. He suddenly took everyone by surprise when he caught hold of the wrists of one of the players, unfolding the remaining fingers like that of the DMK’s symbol, the rising sun. The incident shocked the woman coach of the team, Balvinder Gour, who was seen trying to stop the Vice Chancellor. Since the players were not aware of Tamil Nadu politics, they too were taken aback by the Vice-Chancellor’s odd behaviour. (Source - New Indian Express)

The same VC was invited to attend a Tamil-related event in Singapore last year and I came to know that the man spoke mostly about the DMK. A man holding the office of a Vice Chancellor needs to maintain certain basic decorum and having such people at the top would only bring disrepute to the state and the university.

Caught On Camera

ADMK has released video footage of MK Stalin handing over cash to voters in Thirumangalam. If it can be established that this is indeed genuine video taken during the past few days, it could be a major setback to the DMK's plan to win the keenly-watched Thirumangalam by-election.

Tamil Nadu Local Administration Minister and Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin has allegedly been caught on tape distributing money to voters ahead of by-elections in Tirumangalam.

The video shows Stalin distributing money but the DMK denied it claiming the recording is not recent or from Tirumangalam but a party function.

However, AIADMK maintained that DMK has been involved in bribing voters. (Link)

Update:

The Election Commission springs into action while Stalin maintains that he is innocent.

Taking a serious view of an incident covered by the print and electronic media of distribution of money by M.K. Stalin, Tamil Nadu Local Administration Minister, and some supporters of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Thirumangalam on January 3, the Election Commission has ordered the registration of a case against him.

Reacting to the allegation that he distributed money for soliciting votes, Mr. Stalin said: “It was a gift to a new- born baby… we have evidence to prove this point.” (Link)

Watchout for Kanimozhi in 2009

BusinessWorld magazine has featured Kanimozhi as one of the persons to watch out for in 2009. While she might get a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections, the strong anti-incumbency wave in the state might pose a problem to DMK's hopes. I still feel Kanimozhi has to play second fiddle to Azhagiri and Stalin. Till then, she has to be content organizing stuff like Chennai Sangamam.

Absent from most Delhi page 3 parties and political high teas, Kanimozhi is fond of asserting that she does not need to win every little battle to be a successful politician. Read that to mean she is being smart enough to want to stay away from petty party politics. “I am here (in Delhi) not to push them (senior DMK leaders) or sideline anybody,” she says. “I look up to them for guidance.”

But Kanimozhi may not be able to stay away from the limelight for long. Despite her vehemently denying she harbours any ambitions of occupying a ministerial berth at the Centre, party and political compulsions look certain to bestow the same on her in 2009. (Link)

MK on Freebies: Everybody does it

This is what MK had to say when he launched the free Pongal scheme:

Stating that the media also ridiculed his government on the freebies through publication of caricatures and editorials, he wanted to know what was wrong in giving these gifts to the poor and the needy as the media groups also indulged in distribution of free supplements along with the main issue to the readers as a regular feature. “People and political parties also organised annadhanams in temples to feed the poor on important occasions like birthdays. Why there was no criticism on all these things,’’ he asked. (Link)

The only difference between government doling out freebies and the press is that the government engages in such publicity stunts by spending taxpayer money to capture votebanks while newspapers and magazines give free gifts and supplements out of their own money to increase readership and subscriptions. While the media owners are not answerable to the general public for giving such freebies, the government needs to justify whether such free schemes (especially the free TV) really make sense.

Arasi and Anni battle it out in Thirumangalam

For both Radhika Sarathkumar and Premalatha Vijayakanth, it is more than a mere whistle-stop tour to draw voters towards their parties – the All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) – headed by their star husbands.

Clad in their best and bright traditional attire, they became instant hits when they hit the dusty roads of Tirumangalam. Radhika and Premalatha, the star performers, held the women in rapt attention. Each in their individual style vividly symbolised the contrasting approach to campaigning. While Radhika became Selvi, her lead role in the mega serial Arasi, Premalatha was ‘anni’ (brother’s wife) to her husband’s fans. Both seemed to relish their roles.

Arasi was the topic of discussion among the wide-eyed women. “What will happen to Arasi? Will the mother and daughter unite?” These questions nagged Radhika wherever she went. Even men were inquisitive to know about Arasi’s fate in the TV serial. ‘See the serial to know the answer,’ she would reply patiently and then move on, clad in a traditional saree. (Link)

Radhika might be crowd puller, but it would be difficult to convert her on screen charisma into votes. Not sure what sort of an impact Vijayakanth's wife can create.

DMK Effects Changes At The Top

It looks like MK Stalin is set to become DMK Treasurer while MK and Anbazhagan will retain their party positions.

Top DMK sources told HT that DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, citing his advancing age, had wanted to hand over the party presidency to K Anbazhagan, who has been general secretary for over three decades. (Link)

If MK is serious about his point about old age, he should have actually handed over the baton to a younger person and not even considered K Anbazhagan. This is because Anbazhagan is two years older than MK.

TN Snippets

Pushpa Iyengar of Outlook has come up with an interesting collection of snippets related to the state of affairs in TN (mostly political). Her round-up covers MK, Jaya, Vaiko, Vijayakanth, Marans, Azhagiri, Kanimozhi etc. 

Chennai was a late bloomer on the real estate front and today is saddled with 50,000 potential flats down the Old Mahabalipuram Road alone being built by builders from Delhi/ Mumbai/ Bangalore that are in varying stages of construction. Nearly four million square feet of commercial space are going abegging while software companies are tightening their belts by withdrawing snacks, soft drinks, toilet paper, etc. But those who have flats to rent are still kings getting away with increasing rents anywhere from 40-100 per cent. (Link)

Pongal - the latest addition to the freebie list

The New Indian Express has a hard-hitting Op-Ed on the freebie culture in TN and how the government is concentrating on such gimmicks at the cost of real development.

Inadvertently the DMK will find the scheme drawing attention to its own shortcomings. For instance, the free TV scheme highlighted the deteriorating power situation in the state (many simply sold off their TVs); the cash assistance of Rs 2,000 to those affected by the recent floods showed up the government’s perennial lack of planning with regard to natural calamities; and the gift hamper is sure to remind voters of the terrible rise in prices of essential commodities during the reign of the UPA.

More importantly, however, is the culture of freebies that the people of Tamil Nadu are getting used to. It points to the government’s abdication of its duties in ensuring that the citizens are able to provide for themselves. Would the money not have been better spent in developmental projects which have long-term multiple benefits for the voters, individually and collectively? Such freebies exemplify the feudal mindset of Tamil Nadu’s rulers. It is against democratic norms, where each individual should have an equal opportunity to work and earn for himself. (Link)

PM upset with DMK Ministers

This is what happens when A Raja and T R Baalu spend majority of their time in Chennai.

Sources have told CNN-IBN that the Prime Minister is very upset with two Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) nominees - Minister of Communications and Information Technology A Raja and Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways TR Baalu.

Raja has been nicknamed the spectrum scam man by the opposition while Baalu is facing flak for not doing enough to build more roads.

But now the opposition's charge has got more teeth. CNN-IBN has learnt that Manmohan Singh himself is very upset with the working of his southern allies, particularly those responsible for infrastructure development. (Link)

Part of the blame should also lie with the PM himself. Instead of vetting Raja's credentials, the PM blindly accepted Raja as the Telecom Minister replacing Dayanidhi Maran just because the ministry was cornered by the DMK.

TN's Rahul Gandhi?

Karti Chidambaram comes across more as a thug rather an educated politician who holds a lot of promise. 

In Tamil Nadu, 'son-rises' and sycophancy go hand in hand. So it was no surprise that when Karti, son of Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, had his birthday, hangers-on had posters up in Chennai hailing him as TN's Rahul Gandhi. We don't know whether Karti took it as a compliment, but his political ambitions are certainly no secret. And like other babalog of his ilk, he's not short on fancy ideas. Sample this: "TN needs a new capital, like Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia." Pray why? Well, Chennai apparently is not a well-planned city. One wonders where Karti was when heritage building Admiralty House and others were demolished last year to make way for the new, monstrous Secretariat building? Coming back to TN's Rahul, the question vexing Chennaiites is, who'll be the state's Priyanka? Well, the DMK boys have no doubts: party chief Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi is "most suited for that honour". (via Outlook)

Kanimozhi and Seven Dwarfs

New Indian Express has an interesting take on the inefficient people in the DMK camp

None of this can be good for Kanimozhi, who, if you’ve noticed, has been unable to live up to her responsibility as Mr Kalaignar’s pointsman in Delhi, as evidenced by her lack of handling of the Sri Lankan Tamils’ issue and the 2G spectrum controversy.

It’s probably because she spends all her time in Chennai, rushing from one local function to the next, keeping her visibility high, and feeding her obscenely growing ambition. Unlike Snow White, however, she has enviable maternal support, and it looks as if more than her, it will be the residents of Tamil Nadu who will be biting the poisoned apple and slipping into coma, with no prince charming to rescue us in sight. (Link)

MK-Maran stand-off reaches a climax

The war of words between Karunanidhi and the Marans has reached such a point that a break-up looks like the only option. The widening rift over the past one year just reaffirms that a truce between the two sides is simply not possible.

In an article in the party organ Murasoli on Friday, MK says that the Maran brothers betrayed him and his party and highlights issues like the Dinakaran polls, Sun TV share settlement, constant criticism of DMK govt. through SUN media and the damage done to the Anna Arivalayam premises which Sun Network occupied in the past. The full text of the Murasoli article has been published by Thina Thanthi.

As expected, Kalanithi Maran replies to MK's complaints and claims innocence. In the past, it was Dayanidhi Maran who responded to such allegations. Kalanithi Maran is usually recluse and has issued a press statement to clarify his stand rather than meeting the media. Even Dayanidhi's media interview was not shown on Sun TV's prime time news on Friday. The Hindu gives more space to MK's accusations and has provided limited coverage to Kalanithi's reply. This has made some believe that The Hindu is favouring MK.

MK has always sidelined people who grow in stature within his party and there have been many examples in the past. When Anna passed away, Neduncheziyan was sidelined and MK took over. More recently, Vaiko was ignored as he had become the No. 2 in the party. Dayanidhi Maran had grown in stature after becoming a Cabinet Minister and his frequent appearance in the media would have made MK believe that Dayanidhi might emerge as a possible successor to MK surpassing Stalin, Azhagiri and Kanimozhi.

Dayanidhi has realized that there is no future for him in DMK and has been carefully planning his moves. The recent blows dealt by the formation of Kalaignar TV and Arasu Cable TV have only renewed the Maran brothers' urge to move closer to political forces (be it DMK or others). Sun TV has been giving increased footage to opposition views (especially Vijayakanth) which is an indication that Dayanidhi Maran might want to partner with one of the opposition parties. 

In a post-MK era, Dayanidhi might stick to the DMK only if Stalin emerges as the successor. This is because, Stalin is often seen as being close to the Marans. If Azhagiri takes over the mantle, Dayanidhi would have to join some opposition party or start a breakaway faction together with Stalin if he has serious plans of furthering his political career.

Kalanithi Maran is one of the richest persons in TN (need to revalidate this in the light of the recent plunge in Sun TV stock) and he will go to whatever extent to protect his business empire. To secure his position, Kalanithi needs Dayanidhi to be a force to reckon with in the political spectrum even if it means opposing their own grandfather. Expect more mud-slinging as Dayanidhi's ouster / resignation from the DMK is seen as the natural fallout of the current controversy.

(Photo Courtesy: Murasoli / New Indian Express)

The Tiger Roars After Being Set Free

(Pic Courtesy: ToI)

First Family of TN Politics

Good Sunday read from the The Sunday Express to be read together with MK's family tree.

Espousing the Tamil cause

Aditya Sinha of The New Indian Express argues that MK is able to hold forte on the Lankan Tamil issue only because there is no visible successor in place. He also draws parallel between the attack against North Indians in Mumbai and the attack against innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka. 

Karunanidhi seems to have had his cake and eat it too. He gets away with his hypocrisy and remains the ‘champion’ of Tamil Eelam, simply because there is nobody to inherit his mantle. If Karunanidhi had roared against the attacks against Biharis, would Raj or Uddhav have had the temerity to tell him to mind his own business, the way they did to Laloo or chief minister Nitish Kumar? Probably not. Of course, Mr Kalaignar takes his alpha-male role too seriously.

But Karunanidhi seems to have had his cake and eat it too. He gets away with his hypocrisy and remains the “champion” of Tamil Eelam, simply because there is nobody else to inherit his mantle (sons Stalin and Azhagiri are no patch on Raj and Uddhav, so Chennai’s Biharis need not worry). After him, there will be a real crisis of leadership in opposition to Jayalalithaa. If Vaiko or Ramadoss were capable of the top job, they would have somehow got it by now; if they have not, they will never. Vijaykanth does not seem to have any depth, relying for advice on the discards from other parties. He seems like nothing more than a popular face. Plus, he has no neck. (Link)