Stalin turns 70 on March 1; DMK plans gala celebrations

Phone-a-wish for CM, Selfie with CM, a Flash Mob, gala celebrations, and a public meeting with Opposition leaders from across the country to send a political message a year ahead of the 2024 elections: This is how Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) plans to celebrate the 70th birthday of its president and Chief Minister M K Stalin on March 1.

After paying tributes at the memorials of social reformer E V R Periyar, DMK founder C N Annadurai, and M Karunanidhi on Wednesday, Stalin will visit Anna Arivalayam, party headquarters, to receive birthday wishes from party functionaries and cadres.

For the first time, the DMK has made elaborate arrangements for Stalin’s birthday with party leaders organising exhibitions, bull taming events, sports events, and public meetings across the state.

The party’s Chennai (south) district unit will hold a massive public rally on March 1 which will be a sort of mini-conclave of opposition parties with the participation of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former CMs of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, Farooq Abdullah and Akhilesh Yadav. Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav will also participate.

Last year, the DMK released the first volume of Stalin’s autobiography on the eve of his birthday with the participation of Rahul Gandhi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

DMK, which hopes to play a crucial role in national politics, has been utilising every opportunity to get Opposition parties and their leaders on one stage as part of its efforts to build a “strong coalition” against the BJP. The party also converted the inauguration of its national office in New Delhi last year as an Opposition party meeting with the then interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi taking the high seat at the table.

The I-T wing has launched a couple of innovative ways to enable the party cadres and Stalin’s well-wishers across the state to extend him birthday greetings. Party leaders said cadres can call the number -- 07127 191333 – to record a birthday greeting for the chief minister from February 28 to March 2. They also said cadres can also take a selfie with the CM by logging to the website - www.selfiewithCM.com.

The party has also organised a “Flash Mob” at a mall in Chennai on Tuesday evening.

The public meeting, according to DMK general secretary Durai Murugan, will also serve as the beginning of a change in the country’s political landscape. “His birthday will mark the beginning of a new dawn for India,” he said in a statement.

Except for Akhilesh Yadav, the other two leaders share a warm relationship with the Congress, which hopes to lead the opposition front in the 2024 General elections.

DMK, which is in an alliance with Congress, has so far resisted attempts by parties like TMC, and BRS to cobble up an alternative front against the BJP without the national party.