In the Rise and Fall of Vijayakanth in Tamil Politics, Rajinikanth Has a Lesson

Rajinikanth’s announcement that he will launch his political party in January has created a stir in Tamil Nadu politics, although there is no guarantee yet that his charisma and popularity will automatically lead to political heft. The story of the DMDK, another filmstar-led party, may show Rajinikanth what space Tamil Nadu offers him and what it doesn’t offer.

Launched in 2005, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) is helmed by popular actor, Vijayakanth. It managed to shake the AIADMK and, for a while, was seen as a bright star in state politics before its stock fell.

The name Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam seemed a contradiction in terms. It translates as National Progressive Dravida Organisation/Assembly/Group. Dravidian parties are champions of regionalism so how could they be nationalistic?

But DMDK was actually a well thought out name. It sought the mantle of the original AIADMK. Though regional, the AIADMK did not go so far as to stand against robust nationalism even in its early days.

Also read: Will Rajinikanth’s Charisma and Style Work in Politics, Too?

The DMDK was born as a reaction to Jayalalithaa giving a rightward turn to the AIADMK during her term in 2001-06. She had allied with the BJP for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections after the DMK had left the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), brought in an anti-conversion law, cracked down on striking government employees, and sought to summarily dismiss thousands of them from service. She was no more the benevolent champion of welfare politics like her predecessor, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR).

Jayalalithaa thought it was a time for strong leadership, governance, discipline, investment and protection of Hinduism. It was a time when the state seemed to be syncing with the Gujarat model ushered in by a rising star in the BJP. It was also the time the DMDK started making inroads and Vijayakanth was dubbed ‘Black MGR‘ – Vijayakanth was dark-skinned, unlike MGR whose fair skin was the object of much adulation.

The formative years of Dravidian parties

The AIADMK may have been born in 1972 as a result of a vertical split in the DMK but it did not strike its first roots as an alternative to the party. The two parties’ ideological moorings are similar: advocacy of ethnic identity, non-brahmin empowerment in-part through reservation, love of Tamil language, minority rights, and federalism. Both the parties were ethnic and populist, with the AIADMK, led by a charismatic MGR, seeking to represent the poorest and the most marginalised. Dalits, women and the urban underclass were its natural constituency.

The AIADMK first grew in the areas where the DMK had not upended the Congress. As Narendra Subramaniam has shown in his book, Ethnicity and Populist Mobilization, the DMK grew much faster in northern Tamil Nadu as well as in the Cauvery Delta regions, displacing the communists and passing the Congress in the 1950s and 1960s. But the national party remained strong in the western region as well as in the south where it faced the communists. To shore up her position, Indira Gandhi sought an alliance with the DMK for the sake of precious Lok Sabha seats and gave up on the state, leaving a rump Congress led by Kamaraj to battle the DMK. And the AIADMK filled the space vacated by the Congress.

Even as the DMK and the AIADMK grew into becoming pan-Tamil Nadu parties, their strongholds continued to be separate – the north and Cauvery Delta for the DMK and the west and the south for the AIADMK. The AIADMK emerged as an alternative to the Congress and that reflected in its political stances. Its hallmark remained the support of the most marginalised sections, a charismatic leadership, and welfare politics.

In 2006, the AIADMK, having changed course, lost the elections. The DMK with its welfarist manifesto came to power.

Meanwhile, the DMDK started spreading roots and was commanding a good 10% of the vote. Jayalalithaa saw which way the political currents were heading and pulled back. She jettisoned the BJP as a liability in the state where Muslims and Christians constitute 12% of the population. She refrained from aligning with it ever again. Having cut her teeth in Dravidian politics by shepherding the groundbreaking noon meals scheme in the 1980s, Jayalalithaa took the party back to its moorings. And she came back to power in 2011 only to expand the state’s welfare schemes and retain power in 2016.

Also read: Is Rajinikanth Really the Change Tamil Nadu’s Politics Needs?

As the AIADMK bounced back, the DMDK lost steam. Dogged by ill-health, its leader Vijayakanth was viciously targeted. His personality was ridiculed and his political flip-flops made him lose credibility. Trolls portrayed him as a buffoon on social media. Vijayakanth memes became popular mirth-making distractions. He is now in no position to take advantage of Jayalalithaa’s leaving the scene.

Capturing the political vacuum

Rajinikanth publicly said there was a vacuum in Tamil Nadu after her passing away in 2016. He re-organised his fan clubs to form the backbone of a future political party and has announced he will formally launch the party in January, in time for the coming elections.

Rajini seems to seek the AIADMK’s space. He shares common ground with the party’s former leaders. Rajini is nationalistic, a tad more than the AIADMK leaders though. The poorest and the urban underclass love him. Though Rajini is Maharashtrian, he is regarded as the Tamil hero. MGR was Malayali and Jayalalithaa was born and raised in Karnataka. Even Vijayakanth came from the Telugu-speaking Naidu caste. Yet, all of them were considered quintessentially Tamil in a state where identity is lived, not born into. Tamils love Rajinikanth just as they adored MGR. He is one among them. But the comparisons stop there.

Rajini’s party is like the AIADMK of 2001-06. The filmstar consistently supports Modi and the BJP’s positions on many issues. He advocates spiritual politics and decries corruption and bad governance.

Rajini is big on discipline. After the Sterlite shootings, he criticised agitationist impulses. His political platform is based on a vague middle-class fear that there is something wrong in Denmark. He advocates changing the system but has never really specified what change he is talking about.

Also read: Rajinikanth Distances Himself From BJP

It seems like Rajini wants to be a Tamil Nadu version of the BJP which lies outside the big tent of Dravidian politics. While Dravidianists describe Tamil religious practices as requiring to be purged of Vedic influences, the BJP sees Tamil religion as part of the broader umbrella of Vedic Hinduism – and Rajini seems to agree. Rajini recently said Periyar, the founder of the Dravidian movement, is irrelevant in the state. In the Dravidian world, Muslims and Christians are Dravidians while the BJP sees little value in the Dravidian nomenclature.

But the BJP is yet to demonstrate a substantial base in Tamil Nadu – something it has done even in Kerala. Its politics has not struck roots in Tamil Nadu until now. Narendra Modi’s leadership was rejected by Tamil Nadu voters in 2014 as well as in 2019.

Therefore the way forward for Rajini may well be to retrace Jayalalithaa’s steps when she pulled back after the 2006 defeat in assembly elections. But it does not appear he understands what works in the state or is inclined to. He seems to think Tamil Nadu politics has shifted already and is ready for the platform he has articulated until now. Jayalalithaa thought so during her second term as chief minister but she was proved wrong in 2006. Rajini may well be proved wrong in 2021 unless he changes tack.

M. Kalyanaraman is a print and broadcast journalist based in Chennai.