Stepping into its third year in office, the M K Stalin-led DMK dispensation, which has suffered a series of embarrassments in the past few weeks, faces a slew of political and administrative challenges, including implementation of key poll promises, with the Lok Sabha elections just a year away.
The DMK celebrated the second anniversary by organising massive public meetings across the state with Chief Minister Stalin launching a blistering attack on Governor R N Ravi seeking to know why he was behaving like the Leader of Opposition rather than exercising responsibilities as Governor enshrined in the Constitution.
From fulfilling the promises made during the 2021 Assembly elections to keeping the alliance together to putting up an impressive show to keeping ministers under check to avoid controversies, the challenges are plenty for the DMK. A cabinet reshuffle, in which non-performing ministers will either be shown the door or shunted out from key portfolios, is also on the cards, which is part of the preparations for the 2024 polls.
The second-year anniversary celebrations were overshadowed by the DMK government’s U-turn on increasing the number of working hours in select industries to 12 from 8 and allowing the serving of liquor in marriage halls. It also suffered an embarrassment when purported audio tapes of Thiaga Rajan criticising the government went viral on social media, though the minister denied them as “fabricated” and “deep fake.”
Among the administrative challenges, implementing the Magalir Urimai Thogai (Rightful Money for Women) scheme is the foremost as providing Rs 1,000 per month to women heads of households is one of the key promises of the DMK during the 2021 assembly elections. To be launched on September 15, 2023, the details on the scheme’s implementation and beneficiaries are yet to be released, though Stalin himself said about 1 crore women will receive the money every month.
The government will have a tough task “convincing” women on why they have been left out of the scheme with Finance Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan announcing in his budget speech that the scheme will only apply to “eligible” homemakers, while the poll promise said it was for all.
A few other key poll promises like reducing the price of petrol by Rs 5 (it was reduced by Rs 3 within three months of coming to power), and diesel by Rs 4, and Rs 100 subsidy for six LPG cylinders in a year are yet to be implemented. Though the government maintains that the state’s financial condition didn’t allow them to implement all promises immediately, the party may have to do a lot of explaining especially during the elections.
“We believe the implementation of the Magalir Urimai Thogai will help us immensely during the 2024 polls. We have not abandoned the promises. Our CM has been maintaining that we will implement all promises. But I believe we need to take the people into confidence and tell them what we have achieved so far,” a senior DMK leader told DH.
Prof Ramu Manivannan, Visiting Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver, US, told DH: “The third year is generally difficult for any government as it is the waiting point for them to fulfill the key election problems, some of which couldn’t be pushed immediately after coming to power.”
Politically, the DMK has the challenge of keeping the alliance partners happy and fighting the polls along with them for the third consecutive election.
Apart from its own “track record”, the ruling party has already begun strengthening the booth committees and appointing observers for all 234 constituencies. It is likely to make its strident opposition to the BJP as the alliance’s major poll plank with Stalin himself setting the target of winning all 39 seats.
“I believe the DMK is fairly adequate to go through the elections heads up. Stalin’s leadership is still a strong factor. The AIADMK being subservient to the BJP will keep the electorate guessing as their alliance is not on an equal footing. Though the BJP might make inroads in TN, it should remember that it is still a strong centre of anti-BJP,” Prof Manivannan said.
He added that the DMK might rally the state by making the language and Central-state relations a major issue for the 2024 polls.