Who is to be blamed?

The unruly political landscape of Tamil Nadu offers more questions than answers. Every political party has its share of culpability in debasing political discourse in the state.

The ruling AIADMK split into two factions following the death of its towering leader Jayalalithaa. Her demise left a void in the leadership of the ruling party as she neither named her successor nor allowed the second rung leadership to emerge. The utter lack of democratic norms within the party is not uncommon to the Indian democracy and, therefore, AIADMK cannot be blamed for it.

Though both the factions claim inheritance to the legacy of Amma, the fact remains that the hunger for power is behind the rise and rebellion in AIADMK leadership.

The opposition DMK created ruckus as it could not digest AIADMK’s new leadership winning the confidence vote. Earlier, the DMK tried to fish in the troubled waters by inclining towards one faction of the AIADMK. But, as the OPS faction increasingly found it difficult to get the numbers right, the DMK gave up its dream of either capturing power or ruling by proxy, by prompting a faction of AIADMK to come to power.

As both the options seemed uncertain, the DMK resorted to preposterity to prevent the Assembly from taking up the confidence vote. Such illegitimate actions by the DMK are unbecoming of a responsible opposition. But, such unruly behaviour was not without a strategy.

The DMK aimed at ensuring dissolution of the house and mid-term elections. The party wants to benefit from post Jayalalithaa developments, especially the crisis in the ruling party. The DMK has still not lost the hope. It moved the Madras High Court challenging the floor test. The court is likely to take up the petition today.

Palaniswamy of Sasikala’s faction could muster the support of most of the MLAs as they would not like to face polls so early in their term. He is unlikely to rise to the occasion and Tamil Nadu is most likely to be governed from prison.

Even the BJP which is not a force to reckon with in Tamil Nadu and has no locus standi made a desperate bid to gain from the unholy competition for power within the AIADMK. The party in power at the Centre saw in this hour of crisis an opportune moment for unscrupulous political management. The Centre has not even hesitated to use the august gubernatorial institution to augment its political project.

Meanwhile, some popular film stars are making occasional noises to present themselves before the people as angels of democracy. But, someone should only be naïve to believe that they do not have any political ambitions and are only determined to save the state from sliding into functional anarchy.

Nothing, therefore, is ideological, nothing is principled, and nothing is programmatic. The noble traditions of Dravidian movement are laid to rest and democratic values are sacrificed at the altar of power struggle.