In Maharashtra, there are several “new faces” and “first timers” in the fray, ahead of assembly polls. But as a report in The Sunday Express which connected the dots found, many of the debutants are also dynasts, belonging to influential political families across the state. In fact, dynasts dominate the candidate lists of every major party in both the main coalitions, the incumbent Mahayuti as well as the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi — BJP, Congress and NCP have each fielded at least 9 first-timer dynasts, Shinde Sena, Uddhav Sena and NCP have fielded at least 8, 5 and 1 respectively.
In a state in which the new parties in this assembly election — Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP — are fractions of the old parties, the “first timer dynasts” underline how the new is fettered and circumscribed by the old. They speak of a political system that puts up high entry barriers for outsiders, and in which Family enjoys the right of way.
If the contestants in Maharashtra showcase the new-old, a new party announced its ambition in Tamil Nadu last week, and in Uttar Pradesh, an intervention by a party that broke the old moulds became a poignant reminder of the fragility of new beginnings, if they are untended, in a crowded and competitive political field.
In Tamil Nadu last Sunday, actor turned politician Vijay, aka “Thalapathy” or Commander, held the first rally of his new party, launched nearly eight months ago, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Vijay gets a head start because he is a film star, but not all film stars have made a smooth transition to politics — if MGR and Jayalalithaa were success stories, the parties of Vijayakanth and Kamal Haasan lost steam, and Rajinikanth withdrew.
“Mega Star” Chiranjeevi, who launched the Praja Rajyam to comparably rapturous crowds in Andhra Pradesh in 2008, is another example of a film star who could not make it politically big — his party was dissolved in 2011 and merged with Congress.
Vijay, though, is exploring an interesting space in Tamil Nadu politics — the decades-long alternation in power of the two Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK, is fraying and showing cracks that could be widened into openings. The AIADMK’s leadership crisis after the death of J Jayalalithaa has not ceased, even though the party has held up under pressure and retains a healthy vote share, if not seat tally. The BJP, so far an outsider to the state, backed by its power Delhi, has been knocking on the door insistently. Though it did not win a seat in the recent Lok Sabha polls, it raised its vote share to nearly 11 per cent from 3.58 per cent in 2019.
Vijay throws his hat in an altered ring — and this is reflected in the new language he speaks. He addresses the young and the restless with his talk of Tamil culture, corruption and dynasty, and those who may have tired of older political idioms and their conceits.
While affirming his commitment to the ideals of Periyar, the Dravidian icon on whose ideology the politics of Tamil Nadu has turned for over eight decades now, he also says: “I will not take Periyar’s ideology of refusing Gods”. That is, while he supports ideas like social justice and women’s empowerment, he does not subscribe to Periyar’s anti-God position. Of course, though atheism was central to Periyar’s vision, Dravidian parties have long shelved opposition to God while claiming his legacy. Neither the DMK nor the AIADMK has drawn a hard line on atheism, many of their leaders have been openly religious, and the BJP’s electoral rise seems inexorable and organic, despite the differences between Hindutva and Dravidian religiosity. Vijay’s position on religion is not really a departure, it only sounds like one.
It is what Vijay says on “power-sharing” that may be read as the real break from the past. In a state where neither the DMK nor AIADMK have allowed their allies a share in government, his openness to doing so is being read as an olive branch to the AIADMK, should it ally with him against the ruling DMK when the next assembly election comes.
For now, in Tamil Nadu, a new player has begun an arduous navigation of a complex landscape. And in UP, BSP chief Mayawati spoke up ahead of assembly by-polls in her state and elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, in a voice that seemed to be a reminder of the surrendered possibilities of new beginnings.
The BSP’s press statement of November 2 spoke an imperious language out of sync with the Dalit party’s waning fortunes. It brought back memories of a different moment, many years ago, when Mayawati’s party was the force that challenged the established players and rearranged the electoral contest with its powerful promise and radical politics.
In the press statement, the BSP supremo claims that the BSP’s decision to fight the upcoming nine bypolls in UP is giving sleepless nights to its opponents — “bhajpa aur sapa ki neend udi hui hai”. The BSP is the real alternative, she says, of their “dogali soch va neetiyon (their double-faced thinking and policies)”. They may be fighting each other in UP, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, but they are “ek hi thali ke chatte batte (conspiring with each other)”, who want to mislead the people through their “challawe, behkawe, bhadkawe” or deceits.
In the context of the BSP’s declining graph in successive elections, and given Mayawati’s conspicuous political silences and evasions on most major issues, her fighting words sound poignant, not powerful. They are a reminder of the challenges of the new, and of a hard-won political space in a closed system being tragically abdicated.
Till next week,
Vandita
