DC Edit | Twilight for the Party With a Sunrise Symbol

The last straw was perhaps the acrimonious exit of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), founded by veteran Parliamentarian and octogenarian politician, Vaiko, from the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Sunday. Ahead of that, every other prominent ally of the DMK had bid adieu to the coalition after fighting the April 13 elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly together. The disintegration of the secular grouping after its humiliating debacle caused by the sudden upsurge of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), led by C Joseph Vijay, in the political sweepstakes began with the Congress quietly walking out to join the triumphant party and even getting berths in the Cabinet.

What was a major blow for the 77-year-old DMK, electorally and politically, was followed by other long-time allies like the VCK, IUML, CPI and CPM, too, drifting towards the TVK. Keeping with that trend, the MDMK snapped ties with the DMK by making the announcement at its general council meeting in Chennai, which left many wondering what was left of the SPA and what was so terribly wrong with the DMK, against whom almost all former allies were turning their ire.

The apparent isolation of DMK, which earlier had a domineering role in the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) coalition spearheaded by the Congress, gave rise to a plethora of questions: what exactly was wrong with the party that has been dominating the State politics like a colossus since its maiden ascension to the throne in 1967; what caused its latest fall from grace and will it be able to recover from the catastrophe. To know what went wrong with the party, one has to just listen to the lament of the allies who had snapped ties now and those who voted enthusiastically for the TVK.

A wide range of allegations like corruption and favoritism towards the family members of DMK chief M K Stalin, dominate the reasons for the widespread anger and resentment. Even party functionaries were reportedly peeved over the importance given to relatives of the former Chief Minister in party affairs overtly and also in State administrative matters covertly. The open charges of corruption and favoritism levelled by traditional opposition leaders like Edappadi K Palaniswami to newbies like Vijay added credence to the popular perception of irregularities burgeoning in various departments, turning the tables against the DMK.

But more than anything else, it was the glamour and cinema popularity of the rising star Vijay that evoked an interest in politics among the youth and adolescent film fans, for whom nothing mattered more than what he said. So when he told children to put pressure on elders to vote for TVK, they did it and the elders too obliged nonchalantly, leading to the electoral defeat of the DMK, which was thoroughly vilified in the hustings. But history teaches us that nothing is permanent in Tamil Nadu politics, and the DMK is capable of reversing the trend, given its long experience in electoral politics where it had bitten the dust several times and emerged like a phoenix. Yet, it is doubtful if it could regain its self-assumed role as the guardian angel of Tamil identity when the TVK is just reiterating the harangue of Dravidian politics and aping the actions of Dravidian majors.