M K Stalin’s 70th birthday celebrations in Chennai on Wednesday were attended by a host of senior Opposition leaders, with National Conference (NC) leader Farooq Abdullah calling on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to “come to the national scene” and “build the nation” as he has built the state. The event served as an opportunity to project the Tamil Nadu chief as one of the national faces of the Opposition and provide “like-minded” Opposition parties with a platform to come together. The event came at a time when the DMK leader is facing certain challenges on the administrative front. Apart from Abdullah, those who attended the celebrations in Chennai were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Among those conspicuous by their absence were the Trinamool Congress (TMC); the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the Left. The guest list consisted of parties that are amenable to the Congress being a part of a national anti-BJP alliance for the general elections next year. The TMC and the BRS, traditional opponents of the Congress, have reservations about the Congress role in this Opposition alliance. “The move is aimed at building a strong collective of parties thinking alike. It is, essentially, to help break the ice between them and us and have an eye on cobbling up a national-level alliance to take on the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," a senior DMK leader told The Indian Express. Abdullah said the Congress should forget about the Prime Minister's choice and that the focus should only be on winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Abdullah, when asked about prospective prime ministerial candidates, said a decision could be made on the best man to lead and unite the nation at the appropriate time after a united Opposition wins in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Stalin could become the PM, he told reporters, "Why not? Why can't he become the Prime Minister?" At the public meeting organised by the DMK, the NC chief said, "Stalin, it is time to move on. Come to the national scene. Come to the nation and build the nation as you have built this state. Nation needs people who can work together, and to Kharge ji also I will say, ‘Let us forget who is going to become the Prime Minister. Let us first win the election (2024 Lok Sabha polls), then think who is going to become the Prime Minister’.” Kharge said it was imperative to take on "divisive forces" on a united front and indicated that the question of a PM candidate was "not the question". The Congress president added, “All like-minded Opposition parties must come together in this fight against divisive forces. I never said who will lead, who will become the Prime Minister. We (the Congress) are not telling who will lead or not going to lead. It is not the question. We want to fight together unitedly, that is our desire. That is why we have sacrificed many times in the name of secularism, in the name of liberty, in the name of freedom of expression.” Praising the work done by Stalin’s government, Akhilesh Yadav said, “I along with other leaders would love to lead future generations towards justice … I am certain that he will rise to great political heights and national prominence.” The Tamil Nadu CM said in his speech that rather than the question about who should form the government, the parliamentary elections would be about “who must not capture power”. State allies, Left absent Apart from the TMC and the BRS, the DMK’s partners in the state such as the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) led by Vaiko and the Vidhuthalai Chirutagal Katchi (VCK) founded by Thol Thirumavalavan were also not present at the event. “Our allies in Tamil Nadu are invited. They visited him already. They may not be coming on the stage as national leaders are prioritised,” said a DMK leader. Asked about the absence of leaders such as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has been a regular at DMK events in the recent past, the leader pointed out that he could not have possibly shared the stage with the chief of the Congress. The Congress has been targeting the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala over a series of corruption cases. The leader added that Stalin would share the stage with Vijayan at a programme in Kanyakumari this week. However, it would not be a DMK event. A leader from a party allied with the DMK in Tamil Nadu said they “were not prominently invited for the public rally” because the “DMK perhaps wants to build an exclusive national face for Stalin alongside other national leaders”. He said, “Faces such as KCR (Telangana CM and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao) and (TMC chairperson) Mamata Banerjee have their own plans in national politics without the Congress.” Earlier in the day, Stalin reflected on his past and spoke of the influence of leaders such as Thanthai Periyar, former CMs CN Annadurai and M Karunanidhi, his father, and DMK ideologue K Anbazhagan. As a follower of such leaders, he said, he was formulating his goals and striving daily to achieve them. “The common goal is to see God in the laughter of poor people,” he said. He also launched seven schemes covering education, sanitation, marginalised people, child and women welfare, social development, and social justice. At a rally last week, Stalin said he completed almost all his poll promises before his government completed two years. A senior DMK leader, however, cautioned that despite this “honeymoon period” there were certain challenges that are looming ahead for the Stalin government. "The old-age pension scheme remains a question as we promised to implement it during the poll time. We will be forced to give at least a statement soon in this regard. Almost all projects in different sectors, including industries, are on the right track. The finance ministry has tightened its grip to divert funds more effectively. A major challenge is the expectations and increasing distress among the government employees,” he added. He added, “It is true that there are thousands of vacancies in schools, higher education, electricity departments and local bodies, almost in all ranks and categories. The government will be prioritising this in the coming weeks and months.” Stalin’s birthday was also a big event last year and was attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Vijayan, Abdullah, and Yadav. At the time, the CM released the first part of his autobiography, titled Ungalil Oruvan (One Amongst You), which captured his life from childhood in the 1950s to his arrest under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in February 1976 during Emergency.
