Bang and a whimper

These were individuals who once held great political promise. Their rallies were thundering, runaway successes, their words chanted as mantras by a population which appeared to hang on to every line uttered. Pundits heralded them as the new arrivees who would change the political asymmetry of the state, held for long in the thrall of DMK and AIADMK. In keeping with Tamil Nadu's political traditions, their parties were single-owner enterprises, run as personal fiefs but looked good to go.

Then suddenly, and without any preliminaries, their popularity scales dipped. The crowds that thronged to catch a glimpse of them, either for the glamour quotient or an unexplained emotional tug, did not count for much when it came to the ballot box. These politicians may have began with a bang, but ended with a whimper.

Little surprise that the central question doing the rounds in Tamil Nadu is this: where on the earth are Vaiko, Ramdoss and Vijaykant?

Take Vai Gopalsamy or Vaiko, a dyed in the wool revolutionary, three time Rajya Sabha member and two terms in the Lok Sabha. From safeguarding the rights of Tamilians in Sri Lanka to protests against Koodankulam and  Sterlite, he easily qualifies as a parliamentarian who has spent many days in a prison cell.

In 1994, after he found no space in K Karunanidhi's DMK, Vaiko split off to form the Marumalarchi Dravida Muttentra Kazgham (MDMK). When he did that, he was hailed as the saviour of Tamils. Veteran Dravidian stalwarts L Ganesan, Kannappan, Chenchi Ramachandran and Pon Muthuramalingam  were with him hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder. A new star had appeared on the horizon.

But Vaiko's normally democratic demeanor gave way to an instinct his closest colleagues did not perhaps expect.
 
“Vaiko's arrogant approach frustrated the stalwarts who started to leave one by one. But he was oblivious of rot setting in, dependent as he was on a second line of leaders like Mallai Satya and Nanchil Sampath. Today, these two are busy eying other options, even as Vaiko struggles to keep himself and MDMK politically relevant,'' points out an expelled MDMK man from Thanjavur.

Sampath, who got the boot, said the primary reason for him being sidelined by the MDMK was his increasing popularity among the cadres. “I have been working harder than Vaiko and attracting youth to the party through my speeches. It became difficult for Vaiko to tolerate my rise,'' he claims.

Today major political alliances led by DMK or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu see Vaiko as a pariah. There is talk of a third front alliance to break the DMK-AIADMK strangehold, but parties like the Congress, which could be part of the potential third front, are not natural allies of the MDMK.

Ironically, the only Dravidian party which started off by not putting family politics on top of its agenda, is seeking to do just that. The founder leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) S Ramadoss today has just one aspiration left in life: how to install son Dr Anbumani Ramadoss in the Union Cabinet.

To achieve his ends, no rhetoric is startling enough: "PMK is not a Dravidian party"; "Dalit boys seduce and misuse Vanniyar girls"; "No alliance with DMK or ADMK in future", etc.

Because of this constant juggling between the two behemoths of Tamil politics, the PMK has perhaps lost ground. "He drank from too many cups at the same time," confides an old-time associate.

Ramadoss's other big mistake? Some sources mention that after the defeat in the 2011 Assembly elections, he took on non–Dravidian politics on the one hand and anti–Dalit politics one the other. He was left hanging between two stools.

Likewise for actor-turned politician Vijaykanth. If things had turned out the way he wanted, this Tamil super star's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazgham (DMDK) would be the presiding deity of Tamil politics.

Despite making significant inroads into the PMK's vote bank, Vijaykanth's electoral prospects have been bleak. In the 2006 state assembly elections, the DMDK contested all the 234 seats in the state but except for Vijaykanth himself, lost all. In the 2009, the party contested all 39 Lok Sabha seats but was humbled in each one of them. In the 2011 assembly elections, Vijaykanth improved with a tally of 29 seats, making him an important opposition leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.  

Analysts believe that Vijaykanth the actor could arouse passions but minus any policy or ideological affiliation, failed to hit the bulls eye.

“Vijaykanth's one drawback is loose talk,”says senior media analyst Gnani. His off-the-cuff remarks about politicians, including his own party men, made him a highly unpopular figure in the state.

Instead, his well wishers are keen that his wife Premalatha Vijaykanth and reportedly the actual back seat driver of the DMDK, take charge of day-to-day politics as her vision is regarded as clear-headed. “If he hands over the workings of the party to her, she will be able to manage things perfectly,'' adds Gnani. Her brother LK Sutheesh is carefully watching developments and has reportedly an eye on the hot seat – should brother-in-law abdicate.
 
His most potent threat remains Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha. But not many visualise it as such. “Jayalalitha may succeed in splitting DMDK very easily. This will not affect his vote bank because a party like DMDK runs on charisma. People vote for their charismatic leaders, candidates are not important,'' explains an old Dravidian activist. He should know.

appanasamy@thesundayindian.com