DMK’s ‘son rise’ will hurt party, its mission

Dynastic politics, afflicting almost every party in India, is antithetical to democracy.

The rising sun is the symbol of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tamil Nadu’s ruling party and the state’s biggest political party with a storied legacy. But rising sons have also become as much a feature of the party as a son has risen to the helm of the party every generation. The appointment of Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister M K Stalin, as the Deputy Chief Minister confirms the trend, and the young man is near the top levels of government and the party.

When the time comes, he will move to the top spot, just as M K Stalin succeeded Karunanidhi, the party’s patriarch. Udhayanidhi’s rise has been swift. He had some roles in filmdom, which has become an essential nursery of Dravidian politics, but entered the public political stage only in 2018. The ascent since then has been meteoric, following a script penned by his father. He was the DMK’s “star campaigner” in the 2019 election, appointed the party’s youth wing secretary, was fielded in the 2021 Assembly polls and inducted into the cabinet later.

Whatever the rank-and-file of the party and its many leaders actually feel about it, none will likely express any reservations or opposition in public to Udhayanidhi’s anointment. But the ascent means a political descent for the party, and strengthening of the family’s hold will mean weakening of the party’s spirit and organisation. It might take time for the weakness to affect the party but eventually it will.

Dynastic politics is antithetical to the ideological moorings of the party, which advocated a politics based on social justice, equality, inclusivity and rationality. The Karunanidhi family is more equal than any other family, and members of the family, not just the sons but daughters and others also, hold power and privilege denied to others in the party. 

The DMK is not the only party which practises and promotes dynastic politics. Every regional party is ruled by a family — the Samajwadi Party by the Yadav clan, the Shiv Sena by the Thackeray clan, Kashmir parties by two families, the Janata Dal (S) by the Gowda family. In fact, there is no party without a family stamp and address on it. National parties are also vulnerable to dynastic succession.

The Gandhi family has dominated the Congress for generations. The BJP, critical of dynastic politics, teems with dynasts at lower levels. Only Left parties are an exception to the dynastic rule. Dynastic politics shrinks democracy and runs counter to its basic principles. Democracy’s value lies in its treatment of all individuals as equal and its opening up of possibilities to everyone. It is not a malady limited to India, either. When politics becomes family business, the nation and the people end up losers.