NEW DELHI/MADRAS, 20 April — Party insiders have still not got over DMK veteran and Union Commerce and Industry Ministry Murasoli Maran’s decision to “keep away from active politics on health grounds.”
Maran, Karunanidhi’s nephew, has announced he would stay away from campaigning.
The DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi is playing down the whole thing saying that there is no problem.
Maran is said to be unhappy with DMK’s giving undue importance to new, caste-based parties ignoring the claims of its former National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, the PMK, MDMK and TRC.
Maran is also unhappy with the role given to M.K. Stalin, Karunanidhi’s son, in formulating the electoral strategy. The 70 new DMK candidates are said to be Stalin’s nominees. Maran’s move to quit politics will prove detrimental for DMK in some other ways too.
The party is largely dependent on propaganda provided by a private channel owned by Maran’s family. Now, with Maran sidelined by Stalin, the channel will not be available for DMK — at least to the extent it was in the past. Maran has apparently “quit” active politics to send this message to the DMK leadership. Karunanidhi’s political future is at stake because of another development. The party’s prospects in Tamil Nadu may prove to be a turning point for the NDA at the center.
The chief ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party coalition, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has said that it will review its relations with the NDA, if its ally the DMK loses the Tamil Nadu elections.
The TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has been unhappy with certain political moves by the BJP. One is the party’s efforts to create a split in TDP and attract defectors. The BJP is bent upon spreading its influence in Andhra Pradesh. Fearing BJP’s plans, some prominent TDP leaders have been pressuring Naidu to break-off ties with NDA. They fear an erosion of their own base and a loss of minorities’ support.
The second is the stigma caused to Atal Behari Vajpayee’s government by the Tehelka scandal. Naidu has been avoiding attending NDA rallies organized to defend the government and the Tehelka accused.
If DMK loses to the AIDMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu, it will be a severe shock to the BJP-led alliance. Naidu has voiced this view to senior leaders in the capital.
With the electoral balance tilting against DMK in Tamil Nadu, Naidu has stepped up his interaction with People’s Front and one of its key leaders, former Prime Minister V.P. Singh. DMK’s defeat in Tamil Nadu could prove the beginning of end for the NDA in new Delhi.
