The most recent transfer by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.Okay. Stalin to nominate his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, as his deputy, completes the method of the formal anointment of a political inheritor for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The get together’s image’, a ‘rising solar’ behind two mountains, lends it some sharp symbolism.
After the 46-year-old chief was inducted into the Council of Ministers in 2022 by his father, the succession plan appeared like solely the pure subsequent step. Stalin himself was handed over the baton similarly by his father M.Okay. Karunanidhi after serving as his deputy from 2009 to 2011.
Nonetheless, the daddy and the son adopted very completely different trajectories by way of their entry into politics. Spending 20 years as an understudy, Stalin’s journey started with him forming the DMK youth wing. After that, he went on to grow to be the Mayor of Chennai, earlier than becoming a member of his father’s Cupboard and later being named as his deputy. However, Udhayanidhi joined politics after a stint within the Tamil movie business as a producer and actor. His entry, although latest, was highly effective. Credited with energising get together staff and drawing youth in direction of the DMK, Udhayanidhi now has sufficient time to take the load off his father and inject some younger vitality into the marketing campaign forward of the 2026 meeting elections within the state.
Barring the years between 2011 and 2021, Tamil Nadu has largely seen revolving-door politics. That’s, the governments right here have alternated between the DMK and All India Anna DMK (AIADMK). The latter is working to re-establish itself after the vacuum created by the dying of its stalwart chief J. Jayalalithaa.
The Gowdas, Naidus And Raos
Different states in southern India – besides Kerala – have their very own ‘rising sons’. From Karnataka’s Gowda household, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s two sons, H.D. Kumaraswamy and H.D. Revanna, are energetic politicians. Kumaraswamy, now a Union Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cupboard, is a two-time chief minister.
Each Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have seen the sons of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Chief Minister Okay. Chandrasekhar Rao play an energetic function in state politics. Whereas Naidu’s son, Nara Lokesh, is again in his father’s Council of Ministers, Rao’s son, Okay.T. Rama Rao, was first the IT Minister within the earlier Telangana authorities and is now busy moulding his get together, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), in its opposition function. Nonetheless, each Rama Rao and Lokesh have not been designated as their fathers’ number-twos.
Failed Experiments In North India
However comparable experiments in northern India have made little distinction. Fifteen years again, Parkash Singh Badal inducted his son Sukhbir Singh into his Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) (SAD-B) authorities as a deputy chief minister. The step yielded temporary success too when the marketing campaign led by Sukhbir Singh introduced the get together to energy within the 2012 meeting elections. The victory was distinctive because it was after many years that Punjab had backed the identical get together in two successive elections. However issues have solely gone downhill after that. Unable to retain its maintain, the Akali Dal underneath Sukhbir Badal at the moment has to cope with a comparatively new power within the state, the Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP).
Lals Of Haryana
In Haryana, the 2 sons of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal might maintain neither the political legacy of their father nor the fortunes of his Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC). Whereas his one son, Kuldeep Bishnoi, is at the moment with the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP), the opposite son, Chander Mohan, is with the Congress, with which the HJC merged in 2016. Equally, legendary Chief Minister Bansi Lal’s sons had been in several events and failed to duplicate their father’s success.
The story of the household of the third ‘Lal’ in Haryana politics, Devi Lal, is completely different. In 1989, when he joined the V.P Singh Cupboard on the Centre, Devi Lal anointed his son Om Prakash Chautala as his successor. Many nonetheless bear in mind how Devi Lal shot again at an individual who questioned the transfer: “Then who ought to or not it’s, your son?”. Chautala went on to grow to be the chief minister of Haryana 4 instances, although solely as soon as with a full time period.
The switch of energy by generations isn’t straightforward. Mulayam Singh Yadav realised that, too, when the rise of his son Akhilesh Yadav as chief minister sparked a bitter feud within the Yadav clan. Embers of that rise up proceed to burn to this present day.
(Okay.V. Prasad is a senior Delhi-based journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the creator