The DMK Is Acting Strangely Defensive

It is not clear as to what kind of revelations has the former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member and drug cartel kingpin Jaffer Sadiq made to the authorities after he was arrested in Jaipur where he was hiding.

But the leaks that have made it to the media seem to give the feeling that the DMK leadership is jittery.

The social media exchanges in Tamil Nadu are dominated by this drug scandal and pictures of the drug lord with the DMK's top brass are all over the scrolling time-line.

That he is also said to have bankrolled the film directed by the chief minister's daughter-in-law is also adding to the unease of the party.

The Narcotics Control Bureau, in a departure from its usual ways, has also come out with statements that would make the DMK and its backers squirm.

The DMK is already on a fire-fight mode. A top editor in a prominent English daily told yours truly that they have been sounded out to give less prominence to Jaffer Sadiq stories.

Most newspapers in the state have positioned the news reports on the sensational case in a manner that wouldn't grab the immediate attention of the readers.

The Tamil news channels have also not debated the matter, which incidentally has been feverishly discussed by upcountry channels. Both the developments are not usual.

The DMK wanting to control the fallout of the drug scam in which the party's former functionary has been the kingpin is quite understandable.

After all, with elections not being far away, the DMK wanting to save its face is a logical turn of events. But l'affaire Jaffer Sadiq seems to be casting its shadow on its political strategising too.

Why Is DMK Accommodating A Political Non-Entity Like Kamal Haasan

The M K Stalin-led party seems to have gone defensive in its seat-sharing dealings with its allies. The DMK's promise of one Rajya Sabha seat to Kamal Haasan's Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM) is, on the face of it, not a deal that a party in the driver's seat would commit itself to.

After all, MNM has no real political clout. And Haasan as a politician is practically a disaster. He has no vote-base and inspires no real confidence with any sizable section. His campaigning for or against the DMK (or any party) is not going to alter any of existing political reality in the state.

If anything, Haasan's vaunting braggadocio against Stalin and the DMK in the past is actually causing some embarrassment to the newly-announced alliance.

Political parties doing deals with their once enemies are not rare events in Indian politics. But in the case of Haasan, it seems different. He had clambered on the high-horse and had projected as the sole honest voice in Tamil Nadu politics, with the likes of the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) being totally venal.

So this climb down, okay make it a mighty fall, is difficult to come to terms even for some of his party members.

That such a party has been the promise of Rajya Sabha ticket from Tamil Nadu has given rise to the talk that the DMK is playing its cards very conservatively. For a party, which is predicted to sweep the elections in Tamil Nadu, such sudden circumspection is tough to explain.

Just imagine this: The DMK has actually given in to a Brahmin-born person who has nothing political to offer. The DMK actually went after him and his caste when Haasan thundered about DMK’s corrupt ways in 2019. But now both have conveniently forgotten that chapter. That is politics in this country, folks!

DMK Keeps Congress And VCK In Check  

The DMK actually did well to hold off the importunate bargaining from other allies like the Congress and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). The DMK has allotted eight seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Union Territory of Puducherry for the Congress to contest.

The VCK has been given two seats. These are the same numbers that the DMK parted with in the 2019 elections when the alliance swept 39 out of the 40 seats at stake in the state and Puducherry. 

DMK has also finalised seat-sharing deals with Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), the CPI, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK).

The MDMK, the IUML and the KMDK, which will contest on the DMK symbol, have got one seat each. The CPI-M and the CPI have been earmarked two seats each.

The DMK itself will contest 21 seats in the state — one more than last time as the Indiya Jananayaga Katchi, which contested and won from Perambalur, has crossed over to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) combine in the state.

But the confidence with which the DMK approached the 2019 elections is decidedly missing now. If anything, the DMK should be on a stronger wicket now.

For, it won the 2021 state elections rather convincingly, and is calling the shots in the state. So, for the DMK to play some dead-bat politics can be put down only to the Jaffer Sadiq case and its cascading fallout.

INDI Alliance On Tenterhooks

The party finds itself caught in a cleft stick due to the unseemly developments over the last few weeks. Both the Tamil Nadu BJP and the AIADMK have gone to town on the issue. The AIADMK has also presented a petition to the state Governor on the issue for what it is worth.

On social media, which these days are the window to the inner thinking of any organisation, the DMK handles are mostly spending their time warding off the adverse effects of the Jaffer Sadiq drug case. The usual rhetorics and bravado are hardly visible.

But social media victories are just brownie points. Notionally nice, but nothing to celebrate tangibly. The real battle lies when the campaign picks up steam on the streets.  But if the DMK doesn't bring its 'A game' to the table then, its dream of sweeping the elections in the state may be severely jolted. 

Can the DMK re-find its 'bazzball' approach? The coming days, in that sense, will be interesting. Many eyes will be on what emerges from Jaffer Sadiq's corner as it can set the tone and tenor for the election campaign in these parts. Any impact on the DMK will inevitably affect the entire INDI Alliance political gameplan.