One Son Rises, the other Son Sets

The Pioneer writes:

Alagiri can be a major thorn in the DMK’s flesh

Whether sacked DMK leader MK Alagiri approaches the courts, as he has threatened to, against his dismissal from the party or not; and whether he gets relief or not, has little relevance to the political narrative being played out for the moment. The other few steps the strongman of south Tamil Nadu is expected to take will be of real meaning. It is certain that he will at the very least not campaign for the DMK's candidates. He could actively campaign against them. But will he limit himself to opposing the DMK in the electoral battle or will he throw his lot in favour of the candidates of the National Democratic Alliance's rainbow coalition in the State? Certain partners of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, such as MDMK's Vaiko, recently met Mr Alagiri to seek his support. Earlier, Mr Alagiri had kind words for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The latter prompted a life-time expulsion from the DMK, up from the earlier suspension. But Mr Alagiri appears unfazed, and although he has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha election this time, it does not stop him from backing candidates of his choice against the DMK. Interestingly, Mr Alagiri had also angered his former party by praising its bête noire and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. From the DMK's point of view, this is the worst level of blasphemy. Coming out in support of Mr Modi is still fine; after all, DMK chief M Karunanidhi had himself said only recently that the Gujarat Chief was a “hard worker” and a “friend”, and had wondered if continuously slamming the BJP for being ‘communal' was the right thing to do. Mr Alagiri is certain to tap into the dilemma that the DMK is in. The party is fighting the election without an alliance with the Congress and in the face of a consolidated AIADMK onslaught. To add to the party's woes, the BJP has managed to rope in parties — some of which, such as the PMK, were being actively wooed by the DMK — within the NDA fold. Thus, the DMK now has to battle these political parties as well as Mr Alagiri.

It can be argued that in recent years Mr Alagiri has lost the heft that he enjoyed in the constituencies which he had lorded over as a DMK leader, and that his estrangement with his father and DMK supremo as well as the rise of his brother MK Stalin as Mr Karunanidhi's successor have contributed to the loosening of his hold. While this is true to an extent, it is not as if Mr Alagiri has been rendered entirely irrelevant. He still has a support base which remains loyal to him despite the rough times that he is going through. At the very least he can prove to be a serious irritant to the DMK in the electoral battle ahead; at most he can destroy the chances of a handful of candidates of that party. The ability to do both is what is making the DMK's rivals to warm up to Mr Alagiri. But it is too early to predict which way the former Union Minister will go. If he still sees chances of a comeback to the DMK, he may exercise caution for now.

Tweet: #DMK patriarch is all at sea, thanks to #Alagiri, the #bumblebee. Read http://bdnarayankar20.blogspot.in/2014/03/one-son-rises-other-son-sets.html …
#Stalin #Vaiko #Karunanidhi #Jayalalithaa #NDA