Chennai: Having taken the reins is not enough and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is on an image makeover. Neither does he have the oratorical skills of his father, the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi nor the charisma and aura of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Hence, the quest to be an overarching leader in tune with the times is unmistakably there. And, Stalin does it differently with a wider reach.
Soon after assuming office, he was seen cycling on the East Coast Road, sporting a helmet and designer shoes, on a sunny morning. His ride and the selfies he took with the youth en route, were an instant hit. Earlier, during the campaign too, he was on a morning stroll in parks and on roads, shaking hands with the people. Now, a short video of the Chief Minister doing workouts at a gym has gone viral on the internet.
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Right from the 2016 Assembly campaign, Stalin has been projecting the image of a leader cutting across party lines. “Namakku Naame”, was a campaign which he undertook then to reach out to a wider audience across the state. For the first time, he was seen interacting with the masses, in the farmlands and at roadside tea shops and at times riding a tractor in the fields. If that was the beginning, the run up to the 2021 election witnessed him as the sole face of the DMK, which in the past had prided itself in its array of versatile leaders.
His rival and former Chief Minister EPS, who was shouldering the AIADMK campaign then, was not lagging behind, projecting himself as a farmer, hailing from an agrarian family. Donning a green turban and folding up the dhoti, he stepped on to paddy fields with a sickle to harvest the crop. On one occasion, he even drove a bullock cart.
Now, the DMK has completed 100 days in office and the image of Stalin is that of a people-friendly Chief Minister. During the peak of the pandemic's deadly second wave, he was not confined to his home and office. Rather, he visited hospitals in Chennai and across the state which made the administration more responsive.
When he took over office, the question on everybody's mind was what sort of a leader he would be. While Karunanidhi had occupied the CM gaddi in 1969 at the age of 45, Stalin had become Chief Minister at the age of 68 and for long, he was the party's Youth Wing leader. The DMK too had undergone a generational change. To get traction among the youth, Karunanidhi used to grace events organised by the Tamil film industry. But, Stalin has thus far kept a safe distance from Kollywood like Jayalalithaa during her last term.
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“Stalin's role model is Jayalalithaa. He desires to be a strong leader and in that sense is the political heir of Jayalalithaa,” is the view of Thol. Thirumavalavan, MP, whose Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi is an ally of the DMK.
With the youth mostly disinterested in politics, attracting them is a huge challenge. The cycle rides, as well as the gym workouts, help the Chief Minister to present a positive image, especially to the youth and sends a strong message of keeping oneself fit. It also serves the purpose of dispelling the rumours about his health.
