Amid talk of Stalin’s son as Deputy CM, voices of dissent from ally corner

No DMK state holds immoderate portfolio successful the Tamil Nadu government.

The remarks by Arjun – a governmental strategist who started moving with the VCK successful 2021, but joined the enactment lone this twelvemonth – drew an instant backlash from elder DMK leaders. The VCK has since sought to region itself, with its main Thirumavalavan besides breaking his soundlessness connected Wednesday.

The strain successful the DMK-VCK ties implicit Arjun’s remarks comes adjacent connected the heels of the VCK’s astonishment determination to invitation the AIADMK for its ‘Total Prohibition Conference’, organised arsenic a effect to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy. The victims of the calamity had been mostly Dalits. The league day was announced and the invitation sent retired erstwhile DMK main and CM Stalin was abroad.

After Stalin returned, helium held a gathering with Thirumavalavan, and the DMK said it would articulation the league to beryllium held connected October 2 – indicating that they had patched up.

Criticising Arjun for his remarks, DMK person A Raja connected Tuesday praised Thirumavalavan arsenic a beardown proponent of Leftist values who had ever “uncompromisingly” fought for Dalit rights and against communalism. “Someone who joined the VCK lone precocious making specified statements is precise unfortunate. I judge Arjun spoke without the cognition of Thirumavalavan,” Raja, the DMK’s astir salient Dalit face, said.

In his remarks, Arjun besides referred to the 2003 movie Mamannan, starring Udhayanidhi, noting how, arsenic the main lead, helium played the lad of a Dalit MLA who rebels against his father’s submissiveness earlier the section feudal lord. In 1 scene, arsenic his MLA begetter resists taking a spot earlier the feudal lord, helium grabs a seat and makes him forcibly sit.

“It’s similar Maamannan. My person (Thirumavalavan) whitethorn spot powerfulness arsenic thing to beryllium shared, to patiently hold for it. But the caller procreation of cadres is not similar that. They ask, ‘When volition my person look astatine the top? How agelong indispensable we proceed moving similar this?’ When idiosyncratic from the movie manufacture tin beryllium considered the adjacent Deputy CM, wherefore can’t my person attain that? I’m reflecting the sentiments of mean cadres.”

Arjun said Thirumavalavan was “not acceptable to demand” power-sharing aft the 2021 Assembly polls, but the enactment should get its due. “This isn’t astir bargaining. Why should we spot the DMK arsenic the bigger party, handing retired positions to smaller ones similar us? If the DMK is genuinely a large party, it should basal connected its own… Without the VCK’s support, the DMK can’t triumph successful bluish districts,” helium said.

With the DMK indignant implicit Arjun’s remark, Vanni Arasu, a elder VCK person and 1 of Thirumavalavan’s closest allies, said Arjun’s connection was purely personal. “When we tally a party, we decidedly purpose to spot our person astatine the top. (But) What Arjun said was his view.”

Another elder VCK person adjacent to Thirumavalavan echoed this, saying the party’s main combat was against communal forces led by the BJP and RSS. Claiming that the confederation with DMK remains strong, and downplaying the VCK’s tendency for much accidental successful government, the person said: “When we enactment together, a triumph is everybody’s victory.”

Arjun’s emergence wrong the VCK – making him the lone non-Dalit to clasp a apical station successful the enactment – has been swift and not unanimously popular. Many spot successful this his links to Santiago Martin, his father-in-law and a arguable but almighty businessman and lottery king, who is nether the radar of Central agencies.

Arjun, successful fact, was portion of the DMK’s run squad earlier, from 2015 to 2021. He made the power to the VCK reportedly aft failing to get a summons from the DMK for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. After the 2021 Assembly elections, helium founded Voice of Common, a governmental marque strategy squad that took connected arsenic lawsuit the VCK, with the little of helping the enactment grow beyond its halfway Dalit base.

Multiple sources wrong the VCK expressed interest implicit Arjun’s power successful the party. A person said: “Coming from a humble cultivation background, Arjun joined into wealth. His fiscal powerfulness and relation successful mobilising funds, including respective crores for a VCK league held successful January, person fixed him unprecedented abstraction wrong the VCK.”

Another VCK root said Arjun whitethorn inactive beryllium nursing a grouse implicit the DMK denying him a ticket. “This could beryllium wherefore helium is utilizing the VCK banner to people the DMK.”

A elder VCK person said: “Thirumavalavan is the governmental strategist of the party. Nobody other is authorised to formulate a antithetic strategy. Arjun is simply a caller entrant, helium doesn’t cognize thing astir the ideology oregon past of the party.”

Meanwhile, Stalin has dropped respective hints successful the past fewer days that Udhayanidhi is acceptable to beryllium made Deputy CM. On Wednesday morning, yet breaking his soundlessness connected the issue, Thirumavalavan said: “The DMK and VCK confederation has nary issues, and determination are nary reasons for immoderate doubts betwixt us. One video of excavation astir power-sharing has triggered this controversy. I person spoken to our enactment leaders, and we volition instrumentality due enactment based connected their opinion.”