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For the first time since the DMK-led alliance took shape in Tamil Nadu before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, there are signs of tension, with a leader of the VCK suggesting unhappiness over the expected elevation of Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi as Deputy CM.
Speaking to Tamil news channel Thanti TV, VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjun took a swipe at Udhayanidhi without naming him, commenting on “someone who came from movies only yesterday” being made Deputy CM. Arjun added: “Getting a share of power (in the state Cabinet) is crucial… The DMK also needs us; it’s not as though we are a smaller party at the mercy of the DMK.”
No DMK ally holds any portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government.
The remarks by Arjun – a political strategist who started working with the VCK in 2021, but joined the party only this year – drew an instant backlash from senior DMK leaders. The VCK has since sought to distance itself, with its chief Thirumavalavan also breaking his silence on Wednesday.
The strain in the DMK-VCK ties over Arjun’s remarks comes close on the heels of the VCK’s surprise decision to invite the AIADMK for its ‘Total Prohibition Conference’, organised as a response to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy. The victims of the tragedy had been mostly Dalits. The conference date was announced and the invite sent out when DMK chief and CM Stalin was abroad.
After Stalin returned, he held a meeting with Thirumavalavan, and the DMK said it would join the conference to be held on October 2 – indicating that they had patched up.
Criticising Arjun for his remarks, DMK leader A Raja on Tuesday praised Thirumavalavan as a strong proponent of Leftist values who had always “uncompromisingly” fought for Dalit rights and against communalism. “Someone who joined the VCK only recently making such statements is very unfortunate. I believe Arjun spoke without the knowledge of Thirumavalavan,” Raja, the DMK’s most prominent Dalit face, said.
In his remarks, Arjun also referred to the 2003 movie Mamannan, starring Udhayanidhi, noting how, as the main lead, he played the son of a Dalit MLA who rebels against his father’s submissiveness before the local feudal lord. In one scene, as his MLA father resists taking a seat before the feudal lord, he grabs a chair and makes him forcibly sit.
“It’s like Maamannan. My leader (Thirumavalavan) may see power as something to be shared, to patiently wait for it. But the new generation of cadres is not like that. They ask, ‘When will my leader emerge at the top? How long must we continue working like this?’ When someone from the film industry can be considered the next Deputy CM, why can’t my leader attain that? I’m reflecting the sentiments of ordinary cadres.”
Arjun said Thirumavalavan was “not ready to demand” power-sharing after the 2021 Assembly polls, but the party should get its due. “This isn’t about bargaining. Why should we see the DMK as the bigger party, handing out positions to smaller ones like us? If the DMK is truly a big party, it should stand on its own… Without the VCK’s support, the DMK can’t win in northern districts,” he said.
With the DMK indignant over Arjun’s remark, Vanni Arasu, a senior VCK leader and one of Thirumavalavan’s closest allies, said Arjun’s statement was purely personal. “When we run a party, we definitely aim to see our leader at the top. (But) What Arjun said was his view.”
Another senior VCK leader close to Thirumavalavan echoed this, saying the party’s main fight was against communal forces led by the BJP and RSS. Claiming that the alliance with DMK remains strong, and downplaying the VCK’s desire for more say in government, the leader said: “When we work together, a victory is everybody’s victory.”
Arjun’s rise within the VCK – making him the only non-Dalit to hold a top post in the party – has been swift and not unanimously popular. Many see in this his links to Santiago Martin, his father-in-law and a controversial but powerful businessman and lottery king, who is under the radar of Central agencies.
Arjun, in fact, was part of the DMK’s campaign team earlier, from 2015 to 2021. He made the switch to the VCK reportedly after failing to get a ticket from the DMK for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. After the 2021 Assembly elections, he founded Voice of Common, a political brand strategy team that took on as client the VCK, with the brief of helping the party expand beyond its core Dalit base.
Multiple sources within the VCK expressed concern over Arjun’s influence in the party. A leader said: “Coming from a humble agricultural background, Arjun married into wealth. His financial power and role in mobilising funds, including several crores for a VCK conference held in January, have given him unprecedented space within the VCK.”
Another VCK source said Arjun may still be nursing a grouse over the DMK denying him a ticket. “This could be why he is using the VCK banner to target the DMK.”
A senior VCK leader said: “Thirumavalavan is the political strategist of the party. Nobody else is authorised to formulate a different strategy. Arjun is a new entrant, he doesn’t know anything about the ideology or history of the party.”
Meanwhile, Stalin has dropped several hints in the past few days that Udhayanidhi is set to be made Deputy CM. On Wednesday morning, finally breaking his silence on the issue, Thirumavalavan said: “The DMK and VCK alliance has no issues, and there are no reasons for any doubts between us. One video of mine about power-sharing has triggered this controversy. I have spoken to our party leaders, and we will take appropriate action based on their opinion.”
