After DMK’s shock loss, Stalin wants suggestions to turn the party around. His sister, Kanimozhi, may be the trump card |
The defeat of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) by the newcomer Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) took many by shock. The two Dravidian parties have tried to explain their respective successes and losses, while scholars of Tamil politics grapple to make sense of the Vijay phenomenon. On Thursday, former Chief Minister and DMK leader M K Stalin put out a video on his X account, where he graciously claimed responsibility for the defeat of the DMK and invited the public to offer suggestions for improvement in the future.
There is no doubt that the DMK needs to evolve and reinvent itself according to the times, as Stalin himself noted. For that to happen, however, the DMK must bring in a real leadership transformation — and the name is Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.
Time and again, women voters have not found much inspiration in the DMK. When Jayalalithaa was around, AIADMK was able to garner women’s votes in larger numbers than the DMK. Her welfare measures, such as the Amma Mess, greatly empowered women at the local level. In contrast, the DMK leadership is not only seen as male, it is also seen as a space where women cannot aspire to higher positions. Despite welfare measures such as free bus-passes for women, the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, Pudhumai Penn Thittam, and others, the DMK was unable to project its impact onto........