Alagiri vs Stalin: Fight for legacy not something new in Indian politics

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 14

Brothers up in arms against each other on legacy issues, what is happening in Tamil Nadu is not happening for the first time in Indian politics, rather it is quite common in parties controlled by a family.

However, as the political war between late Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s sons MK Stalin and MK Alagiri threatens to split the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) —the party he nurtured— the “fluid and dynamic” situation in Tamil Nadu has just increased the political possibilities of the BJP down South.

Trying to gain a foothold there, the BJP is keeping a close tab on political developments in Tamil Nadu, say sources.

Alagiri’s position in southern parts of Tamil Nadu makes him a good choice for the saffron party which also appears to be “in touch” with film star-turned-politician Rajinikanth for possible alliance.

What is good for the BJP is that in a bid to maintain his political relevance, Alagiri too is believed to be “in talks” with Rajnikanth.

So it works well for the saffron party which just about managed one seat from the state in the last Lok Sabha elections.

A union with the Rajni-Alagiri combo may just be the recipe it is looking for increasing its tally in Tamil Nadu—one of the five southern states and a UT with a kitty of 130 odd seats and from where it hopes to cover up any losses from existing strongholds.

Political observers say the warring DMK brothers may have just given the BJP the leg-up it was looking for in the state.

However, as after the death of Tamil icon and DMK patriarch, his sons engage on legacy issues, a similar situation appears to be also playing between the two sons of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad—Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav—in Bihar.

While Lalu Prasad appears to have doused the fire for now, family members contesting from opposing parties is not new to Indian politics.

The biggest example comes from the first family of Indian politics—the Gandhi family—with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi forming one end of the political spectrum and cousin Varun Gandhi and his mother—Union Minister Maneka Gandhi—the other end with their affiliation with the BJP.

Likewise is the case in the Scindia family.

Problems have also struck the Yadav family controlling the Samajwadi Party in UP with Mulayam Singh’s brother Shivpal striking an open discordant note.

Another example of differences between members of a family-run party comes from the Akali Dal with Manpreet Singh Badal charting his individual political path following differences.