Sun rises on Fort St George

82-year old Muthuvel Karunanidhi is set to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu once again. He will be anointed for the fifth time as the head of the State, but for the first time ever in the history of Tamil Nadu politics, the DMK will lead a minority government, supported by the Congress, the PMK and the left parties. It has been a decisive victory for the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance that has romped home with 162 seats, leaving Amma way behind with 70 seats.

Lessons learnt

But what’s more interesting are the many twists and turns that we have seen in Elections 2006. In the run-up to the polls, the DPA hoped to repeat the spectacular success that it tasted during Lok Sabha 2004, when it knocked the AIADMK, 40 to none. But it received its first jolt when Vaiko’s MDMK walked out of the alliance and joined hands with Amma. The elections results this time, however, have cut Vaiko down to size. His MDMK has managed to win only 7 seats proving that he is still only a fringe player in Tamil Nadu. Thol Thriumavalavan also has some soul searching to do. His Dalit Panthers have hardly made an impact on the electorate, winning just two seats despite its presence in the State for the past one decade. Even Dr Ramadoss needs to introspect on his party’s performance. Hitherto, he has been cleverly jumping onto winning alliances, but somewhere, his grip on the Vanniar community seems to slip and the need to reach out to larger votebase seems imminent.

Captain Vijaykanth

The big story of victory is that of actor Vijaykanth and his DMDK. Although he has managed to win only one seat (Vridachalam where he contested), the party has made a huge dent on the winning margins across the State. DMDK has made significant inroads in North Tamil Nadu, PMK’s bastion and more importantly, it has eaten into vote shares of parties across the board. For instance, K Anbazhagan, treasurer of the DMK, won his homeground Harbour constituency by an embarrassing 400-odd votes. A DMDK candidate managed to eat into both the DMK’s and the ADMK’s share. In all, an 8.33% voteshare across the State for a first timer is truly commendable.

Moral of the story

Much has been said about the “arithmetic versus chemistry” that titled the voter in favour of one alliance. Also, there has been considerable analysis of the populist promises of rice and colour TVs that both Karunanidhi and Jaya offered. But for me, it’s not the rice, the colour TV or the poll alliance that ticked. The big winner, for me, was clearly the voter of Tamil Nadu. The state had a 70% voter turnout – a clear affirmation of the belief in democracy and in the process of adult franchise. Amma’s ouster is also a loud announcement that people prefer change irrespective of performance of the Government. Change, it seems, is a constant need among the electorate of Tamil Nadu.

Pramod Mahajan - Triumph of Spirit

As I write this, Pramod Mahajan is fighting his last battle for survival at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. The story of Pramod Mahajan, to me, is a tale of confidence, self-belief and perseverance in the dirty world of politics. I recall it was in the early 1990s that I first heard about Mahajan from a classmate, who himself was a staunch VHP supporter. He told me how Pramod was a swayamsevak and a rising star in the BJP. A few days later, I read an article on the BJP-RSS adroitly written by Swapan Dasgupta in India Today. Then sometime, later, I saw him on Star News (the earlier NDTV avatar). Pramod Mahajan came across as a confident, articulate and moderate voice of the BJP. He handled the discussion with élan, bounced off criticism with seasoned repartee and managed to win the confidence of both the audience in the studio who responded to his remarks with thunderous applause and millions of middle-class viewers across the country. Mahajan was the middle-class hook of the BJP. His suave, polished countenance coupled with his Hindutva belief was the right recipe to serve the middle-classes during those times. Mind you, I am talking of a period after Babri and before Godhra, when there was unabashed support for Hindutva politics and growing anticipation of the BJP as the Government-in-waiting. Mahajan ascendance can be attributed to being the right man in the right party and at the right time. He embraced modern world thinking, networked with corporate India and was often troubleshooter for the party. But Pramod Mahajan was no saint. He had his fair share of controversies – accusations of corruption, scandal and murder.
The next decade saw Mahajan grow in stature and occupy an enviable position of a master strategist for BJP’s election campaigns. Mahajan was made Defence Minister in Vajpayee’s 13-day Government. He later held the IT, Telecom, Parliamentary Affairs portfolios. But Mahajan’s fall from the power zone was as quick as his rise. He was believed to be the key architect of the India Shining campaign that bombed during the Lok Sabha Elections 2004. Mahajan, unlike other politicians, accepted defeat and took responsibility for it. I still remember in a TV interview, he candidly admitted, “If I’d won, I’d been made a hero, now that we have lost, I take responsibility and look at future challenges.” This was quintessential Mahajan. An eternal optimist and a fighter. For someone, who came from a village called Ambejogai in Maharashtra, it is this die-hard spirit that came to his aid in his moment of crisis. It’s only a matter of time before we hear the worst from the Hinduja Hospital. But Pramod Mahajan will always be remembered as a man – who was candid about his views, someone who fought hard, and never failed to his accept his mistakes. A rare quality in a politician.