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The Rediff Special/ N Sathiya Moorthy

Future Man

Is former Union minister Murasoli Maran being projected as a possible successor to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvelu Karunanidhi?

The query has been necessitated by the former's presence at state government functions, and his climbing up the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's warrant of precedence in recent times.

"Yes, an otherwise public-shy Maran is suddenly becoming conspicuous by his presence at functions," points out a state minister. "Earlier, he had been associated only with board room-type conferences, where his expertise came in handy for the chief minister to understand the nuances of the emerging economic situation."

As this source points out, Maran was a speaker at the annual Pongal Industrial Trade Fair, inaugurated by the chief minister in Madras last fortnight. "Even granting that the fair is being held in central Madras, Maran's parliamentary constituency, a few days later he attended a housing scheme inauguration in the district-town of Tiruvellore, otherwise unconnected to him."

A nephew of Karunanidhi, Maran has been having a greater say in DMK affairs in recent times. He is said to reflect the views of Karunanidhi, which the chief minister otherwise does not want to speak out, lest it should hurt second-line leaders. At successive internal diiscussions, Maran has been coming down heavily on state ministers and other party leaders.

A no-nonsense man with no patience for inefficiency, Maran had criticised DMK ministers while he was at the Centre. What has caused eyebrows to raise is his pegging in the published list of speakers.

"For long, the DMK has been following a tradition of senior office-bearers, starting with the treasurer and the general secretary alone addressing a party meeting before party president Karunanidhi, who would be the last speaker. This was changed recently, and Maran's name has started appearing before that of treasurer Arcot N Veeraswamy and just before general secretary K Anbazhagan," the source says.

What has not gone unnoticed is Maran's name superseding that of deputy general secretary Nanjil K Manoharan. Like Anbazhagan and Veeraswamy, Manoharan is also a senior minister in the state. He is said to have been hurt by his 'down-grading' for the public function to felicitate Anbazhagan on his 76th birthday last month.

Karunanidhi's mayor-son M K Stalin was earlier projected as a possible successor. Even his elevation as the first directly elected mayor of Madras, with an independent budget and official machinery, was meant to give him enough administrative experience without having to grow under the shadow of his chief minister-father. Or, so the critics said.

Time was when Stalin was expected to replace Manoharan as the DMK's deputy general secretary. It could not come through at successive general council meetings in the last two years. In 1997, the party was caught in a controversy over its threatening to withdraw ministers from the United Front government, done without consulting senior leaders. Last year, the publication of the Jain Commission's final report preceded the general council meeting just by a day, and the leadership was preoccupied with defending the party in public.

The sudden shift of focus from Stalin to Maran now could mean the older cousin with greater political exposure at the national-level would groom the younger politician. This could also mean that Maran has been realistic in his assessment of the emerging political situation at the national-level, where the DMK's role has been marginalised and his own role would thus be minimal.

According to insiders, Karunanidhi has been trying his hand at bridging the reported chasm between his son and nephew. While Maran has been his chief counsellor, and is seen as such even at press meets, to Stalin should go the credit of taking the party to the second generation when the DMK was in the woods during the 12 long years of 'MGR's halo'.

Other party leaders, however, say it would not be easy for either Maran or Stalin to succeed Karunanidhi automatically, even if they had his blessings and had closed ranks.

"Karunanidhi is our leader for life, but things can take a different turn after him," says one party veteran. "There are senior leaders like Anbazhagan, whose claims cannot be overlooked, nor their loyalty to the party and its ideology challenged."

For the record, Karunanidhi has been consistently holding a near-similar view. Time and again when the succession question cropped up, he has declared that the DMK was not a religious mutt for him to name a successor.

"It's a democratic party with a tradition of electing its leader through biennial elections since inception, and a successor will be found by the party when it becomes necessary," has been his standard line.

While Maran is basically a leaders' leader, focussing more on ideology, strategy and other desk work, he is also considered by a section of the party as the 'future man', given his grasp of the economic issues that may dominate both politics and administration in the new millennium. Privately, at the same time, he is credited with reviving the DMK's 'now-forgotten pan-Tamil, anti-Brahmin' political issues, with the eye on the next assembly election.

The Rediff Specials

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