Kharge, Akhilesh, Tejaswi to attend Stalin’s 70th birthday rally

DMK President M K Stalin’s 70th birthday celebrations will be yet another mini conclave of Opposition parties with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah set to address a mega rally here on March 1 along with leaders of other political parties.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will also participate in Stalin’s birthday celebrations, the DMK announced on Tuesday. This is the second consecutive year that the DMK has converted Stalin’s birthday into a show of strength of the Opposition parties – in 2022, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi released the first part of the DMK chief’s autobiography in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“There is no doubt that our leader’s birthday celebrations will turn into a major event not just in Tamil Nadu but also for the entire country. This will also serve as the beginning for a change in the country’s political landscape. His birthday will mark the beginning of a new dawn for India,” DMK general secretary Durai Murugan said in a statement.

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Durai Murugan said Kharge, Abdullah, Akhilesh and Tejaswi will address the mega public meeting at the YMCA grounds here on March 1. Except 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 hopes to play a crucial role in the national politics, has been utilizing 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.

“We have made it clear that we are against the BJP, and that we have also been appealing to all Opposition parties to come together to take on the BJP. Bringing leaders of four political parties on one stage is yet another move towards building unity among Opposition political parties. This shows our resolve to fight the BJP,” a senior DMK leader told DH.

He also recalled Chief Minister Stalin’s consistent attacks on the BJP and his support to the Congress’ efforts to reach out to people, including Bharat Jodo Yatra. 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.

Stalin has also been praising Rahul Gandhi’s efforts in “uniting India” and congratulated him for completing the nation-wide yatra in January. “While launching the yatra in Kanyakumari in September, I said the journey will be successful. People created a lot of hurdles by not providing security. But the yatra has succeeded. He didn’t talk about electoral politics but spoke about peace in the Indian Union and stressed on Secularism,” Stalin had said in January.