Kalaignar Karunanidhi, tallest Dravidian leader, who shaped political narrative of Tamil Nadu

It was natural for a nonagenarian to stay away from the active politics at the ripe old age. On the contrary, people and various political party leaders in Tamil Nadu missed the absence of DMK president Muthuvel Karunanidhi a lot considering the political instability in the state – post the demise of his arch-rival and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa in December 2016. That was the impact he has created on Tamil Nadu politics in his eight-decade-long political career.

Karunanidhi, the man who shaped and controlled the political narrative of Tamil Nadu, no matter in power or out of it for several decades, died on Tuesday. He was 94.

A five-term Chief Minister and a 13-time MLA since 1957, he never lost an election he contested. Days before his death, he completed 49 years as DMK president.

And in a career spanning 80 years, he wore different hats — a student leader, scriptwriter, orator and politician.

Karunanidhi was the last of the grass-roots politicians of Tamil Nadu. He began his public life working under social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy, but cast his lot with CN Annadurai when he founded the DMK in 1948. Since then, he has never looked back, though his six-decade-long political stint was full of thorns.

Known for his shrewdness and manoeuvring abilities, Karunanidhi became Chief Minister for the first time on February 10, 1967, after the death of Annadurai. Karunanidhi’s close friend MG Ramachandran’s enormous resources helped to tilt the race to chief minister’s chair in his favour while DMK seniors like VR Nedunchezhian were forced to give way.

Born in the backward Isai Vellala community in the obscure village of Thirukuvalai in Thanjavur district to Muthuvel and Anjugam on June 3, 1924, he has climbed up a difficult ladder to rise as one of the towering personalities in Indian politics.

Karunanidhi, a school dropout, began his political life at the age of 14 when he started a handwritten newspaper called Manavar Nesan. He then founded Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram which was the first student movement of the Dravidian movement.

Movies to propagate the Dravidian ideology

Like his mentor Annadurai, Karunanidhi used his writing skills to further the ideology of the Dravidian movement through Tamil cinema.

His sharp dialogues and screenplay in Parasakthi (1952) made the movie a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. The movie also introduced two stars Sivaji Ganesan and SS Rajendran. The movie faced several obstacles as it contained criticism of Brahminism. His stint in film world help establishes a close friendship with MGR who was a fledgeling actor.

Striking political alliance

Karunanidhi had the unique ability to convert challenges into opportunities. When Indira Gandhi faced a rebellion within her Congress party during 1969, he asked all his 25 DMK MPs to stand by her. In 1971, he dissolved the State Assembly when Gandhi dissolved the Lok Sabha for simultaneous polling. His strategy brought him rich dividends and the DMK won an unprecedented 184 seats, a record in the state.

However, Karunanidhi firmly opposed the Emergency declared by Gandhi and even gave asylum to leaders like George Fernandes, who were wanted by the Centre in the Baroda Dynamite Case.

When he saw a threat to his position in the party, he suspended MGR, the party treasurer, a move that boomeranged. MGR who founded AIADMK won three successive State elections from 1977 and sent Karunanidhi to a political vanvas of 13 years till his death. To his credit, Karunanidhi kept the party intact for the 13 long years in the Opposition fighting against a charismatic leader like MGR.

In 1989, in the first post-MGR era election, Karunanidhi triumphed and became Chief Minister for the third time. However, it lasted only for two years as he was dismissed by the then Prime Minister Chandrasekar on charges of helping the LTTE in the state. 

When the National Front was floated in 1989, he called all top political leaders to Chennai and held the foundation conference of the Front in the sprawling Marina beach. DMK started taking interest in the national political scene when late Murasoli Maran became Minister in the V P Singh government.

In the polls soon after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, AIADMK-Congress combine swept the polls and Jayalalithaa become chief minister for the first time in 1991. DMK was routed but Karunanidhi emerged as the lone MLA for the party.

Riding on an anti-incumbency wave, Karunanidhi became Chief Minister for the fourth time in 1996. Jayalalithaa who lost her own seat was slapped with several corruption cases including DA case which haunted her till her death.

Biggest political blunder

The biggest blot in Karunanidhi’s political life was his decision to support the BJP-led government at the centre in 1999 when Jayalalithaa withdrew her support. DMK with it anti-Brahm, anti-Hindutva ideology aligned with the BJP, widely perceived as a north-based upper caste party of Hindi-speakers. Karunanidhi’s defence was that Jayalalithaa's “corruption was more dangerous than communalism”.

DMK remained in the BJP alliance till December 2003. In 2004 Lok Sabha polls, DMK floated a rainbow alliance with Congress and won all the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. DMK remained in the Congress-led UPA government at the centre till March 2013.

In May 2006, Karunanidhi becomes chief minister for the fifth time and his son Stalin was inducted into the Cabinet. His poll promise of free colour television, two acres of land for the landless and farm loan waiver become a trendsetter for the political parties to come out with freebies in the subsequent elections across the country.

Corruption charges

In his long political career, if there could be one single issue that has continued to trouble Karunanidhi and his party, politically, it is corruption charges. Right from the Sarkaria Commission’s indictment in the late 1970s’ to the infamous 2G Spectrum scam that saw partyman A. Raja and daughter Kanimozhi’s jailed. Though CBI Special Court acquitted Raja, Kanimozhi and all others in the 2G case, the DMK paid a big political price and lost election after election since 2011.

Family Politics

For Karunanidhi, the promotion of his sons in politics, as well as cinema, remains his weakness. His attempt to promote his eldest son Muthu, born of his first wife Padmavati, in cinema proved very costly. Muthu who idolised MGR failed miserably but ended up making the star politician bitter. MGR who was still in DMK did not take his close friend Karunanidhi’s action lightly and this affected their relationship leading to his expulsion from the party.

Stalin who founded party’s youth wing was politically most active of Karunanidhi’s four sons. Karunanidhi made Stalin as Chennai Mayor in 1996 and inducted him in his cabinet in 2006. His Madurai-based son Azhagiri who had several run-ins with Stalin was expelled from the party in 2014. Kanimozhi who Karunanidhi declared as his literary heir is a second term Rajya Sabha MP and DMK’s women wing secretary.