In his twilight, Karunanidhi mellows watching the sonrise

l December 7, 1996: Jayalalithaa, self and party trounced in the 1996 Assembly election, is arrested and jailed on charges of corruption. Chief Minister Karunanidhi dismisses accusations that the action was ‘‘politically motivated.’’

l June 2001: Jayalalithaa, CM again, sends senior cops to ‘‘drag’’ Karunanidhi from his Olive Road residence and arrest him in a case of alleged corruption in the construction of nine flyovers in the city.

l May 11, 2006: It is now Karunanidhi’s turn for revenge. But, in an amazing turnaround, soon after initial trends indicate a victory for the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance, the DMK chief tells mediapersons that his party would not pursue politics of vengeance. He goes a step further hinting at a desire for healthy politics between rivals.

It is an indication of how much 82-year-old Muthuvel Karunanidhi has mellowed. It may be just age or even a keen desire to retire gracefully from politics with a flawless ‘elder statesman’ image, but in the process, the DMK patriarch may well be ushering in a new era in Dravidian politics.

Tamil Nadu has witnessed the politics of hate — personal animosity between leaders of the main parties — since the late matinee idol M G Ramachandran broke away from the DMK to float the AIADMK; the deep antagonism between leaders has percolated right down to the grass-root level.

All this could be a thing of the past if the DMK veteran decides to sink differences between himself and Jayalalithaa and actually set the tone for healthy interactions in the state Assembly. He can do little if his rival decides to attend Assembly as Leader of the Opposition with her 69-strong AIADMK-led front — the largest opposition contingent so far — in tow.

But known for his brilliant and ready wit, which has had even his AIADMK rivals in splits in the state Assembly, Karunanidhi could yet charm Amma if he sets his mind to it. At least once during his blistering campaign across Tamil Nadu the octogenarian politician indicated that he would not resort to politics of vengeance against his rival. His direction to cadres — published in the party organ Murasoli — that partymen should not take to vendetta politics and his reiteration of that point to the media are indications that Karunanidhi is more than willing to reach out to Amma, in what could perhaps be his last term as Chief Minister.

Indeed, the first signs that ‘Kalaignar’ had softened considerably in his political strategising were obvious during the seat-sharing talks with allies of the Democratic Progressive Alliance for the Assembly election.

As DMK partymen raged at the manner in which MDMK leader Vaiko dithered about clinching alliance talks and wavered about remaining in the DPA, Karunanidhi displayed immense restraint, expressing the hope that his once close aide would take the right decision.

Even given the high stakes, Karunanidhi’s patience was remarkable; it’s not a commodity he’s displayed too often in the past. In fact, the DMK’s debacle in the 2001 Assembly election was attributed largely to his inability to cobble up a strong alliance, which stemmed from his miserliness with seat-sharing.

Even after Vaiko decided to ditch his ‘annan (elder brother)’ and team up with Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi, instead of taking a good portion of the 22 seats he had allocated for the MDMK, shared it among his allies with whom he had already completed seat-sharing talks.

All this, of course, is trumped by his reaching out to his long-time foe.

There’s one more possible reason for his mellowing: His son, M K Stalin. The DMK veteran nurses an intense desire to see his son take over the reins of the party and even state administration before the end of his term, preferably in an atmosphere free of animosity and vindictiveness. Stalin’s smooth ascension could be the one last wish fulfilled for the grand old man of Dravidian politics.

jaya.menonexpressindia.com