With Sasikala's conviction, will Tamil Nadu get another proxy CM?
Proxies are leading a sad parody of democracy being played out in Tamil Nadu. The mandate of the people is the victim of this cruel parody. The state sees the return of the proxies year after year.
The Tamil people have, time and again, delivered a mandate in favour of "Amma" while she has had to relinquish the post to appoint her trusted aide O Pannerselvam (OPS) as chief minister. OPS sat in the CM's chair, but it was "Amma" who controlled the ebb and flow of Tamil politics and governance from behind the curtains.
After Amma's death, OPS assumed the chair of the chief minister for a third time. As Amma had always trusted him with the post, he was thought to be a natural choice for AIADMK. A few days later, we came to know that OPS is being used as a smokescreen to further someone else's political ambition. Inadvertently, OPS again became a proxy-CM.
The squabble within the party came to the fore as OPS refused to be remote-controlled. Sasikala was keen, perhaps overly keen to give wings to her political ambitions, which she had nurtured under the shadow of Amma for more than three decades.
She had moved in her close family members into key positions even as Amma was unwell and remained bedridden, confined to a hospital bed, under the control of others'. The OPS versus Sasikala tug of war intensified even as the governor played the waiting game.
 |
| Sasikala lost no time after the verdict to try and uproot OPS and reinstate someone of her own choosing: Edapaddi Palaniswamy. Photo: PTI |
No, BJP had no ambitions in Tamil Nadu - at least overtly. It is just that the apex court was to rule in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala, in which the late Jayalalitha was a defendant too.
Then the much-awaited ruling came, crushing any hope of Chinnamma ascending the Tamil throne.
She lost no time after the verdict to try and uproot OPS and reinstate someone of her own choosing: Edapaddi Palaniswamy. And, despite all the charges and counter charges, the headcount still tilts it in favour of Palaniswamy. If that is so, Tamil Nadu will once again be governed by proxy.
Honouring Amma and her wish is one thing and responsibility for the mandate, the will of the people is quite another cup of tea. The one elected is answerable to the people, to the Constitution and to democracy.
They do not rule - they govern as an extension of the will of the people. Being subservient to the will of Jayalalithaa's aide is a sort of betrayal to the mandate of the people.
It is Tamil politics and its people that will suffer. Despite their differences, Karuna and Jaya staved off the demons of sectarianism and communal politics, while upholding the traditions of Dravidian politics - more or less.
With Karuna handing over the reins to Stalin and Jaya's demise, the days of Dravidian politics may be numbered. If AIADMK splits, it is the DMK that will benefit. But the next elections will see lots of seemingly non-Dravidian influences entering the political fray in the state.
Does Tamil Nadu deserve this mockery of democracy? Will the faction of AIADMK see reason and refrain from insulting the mandate of the people? There are no answers as of now.