After being routed by their arch rival AIADMK in the 2011 assembly elections, the party with defeat on their hands had added another round of drubbing in the corporation polls and bypolls. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam seems to be groping in the dark

Karunanidhi’s ability to lead the party to success in future elections pose a big question mark on the future of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and his age is not helping it either. Rumours are rife that Karunanidhi has been trying to name his son MK Stalin as his successor; the octogenarian leader has not been able to succeed on an open platform, as he faces resentment from his elder son MK Alagiri. His third wife Rajathiammal, for her part, too, wanted her daughter Kanimozhi to have a big share in the pie. However, Kanimozhi’s alleged involvement in the spectrum scam has made her elevation in the party doubtful.

Further many of the DMK leaders are running of cover following land grab complaints against some of the big names in the political party. These include KN Nehru, K Ponmudi, J Anbazhagan, OC Viswanathan and Anbil Periasamy. Recently, former minister for fisheries, Tamil Nadu, KPP Samy, was arrested on charges of abduction and murder of a fisherman in 2006. The DMK appears to be in crossroads following the recent electoral debacle. The huge defeat of the DMK is attributed to their alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam.

A DMK party member, who was denied a ticket in the 2011 assembly polls, was bitter in her opinion about the prospects of DMK. On condition of anonymity, she said that the way the party is being torn apart by the two brothers is definitely not a good sign for the party’s future. She added that groupism and inner party bickering would intensify once Kanimozhi is out of the prison.

A senior journalist, who has been following the fortunes of the state politics listed the reasons for DMK’s current state.

“The DMK which started as a party for the masses and downtrodden slowly turned into a party for the rich and the mighty. Particularly during the DMK’s 2006-2011 term as a ruling party, it has completely transformed into a party of the rich and the mighty and completely lost touch with the core Dravidian ideologies. Parties old loyal horses were sidelined and new entrants with money and muscle power were given prominence.

The DMK which was built by youth and students miserably failed in this area. The DMK’s youth wing was headed by the party patriarch’s son who is in his late fifties. The little interest shown by the youth to join the DMK was thwarted by the double standards adopted by Karunanidhi in the Eelam issue. “For the DMK to rise from the ashes it has to return to its core ideologies and re-invent itself to be a tough contender in the coming elections” added the journalist.

By Arivumani