Henceforth let’s also address him as Captain in sync with this sinking State’s fetish for titles.
Ignoring such ‘hard-earned’ prefixes and suffixes is akin to political blasphemy here. The leaders love them, coteries spread them, the cadres get inspired by them and the media, as ‘true’ mirrors of society, reflect them. That’s how legends are made in this part of the country.
I am impressed. It is not often that a party leader with a nebulous vote base gets to keep everyone guessing about his moves and decisions. Those who openly wooed him and eagerly awaited his every word included national giants albeit dwarfs here, established regional satraps, rag-tag outfits, loose fronts and miscellaneous debris floating in the political space. They can’t now talk ill of him during campaign. The captain, er, Captain, as in celluloid is the cynosure and climax clincher.
Of course it was not easy on him. The pressures, from within and without, were immense. The lead pair prefers to sit on the throne instead of making MLAs of self-centred partymen through alliance. This is his third Assembly poll since launching DMDK as an alternative to the DMK and AIADMK. To this end, it would have been nice had he dropped the cliched and tired terms ‘Dravida’ and ‘Kazhagam’ and used something fresh and filmy. But that’s over. The point is the man and his lady have jointly and severally resisted all overtures while still keeping the pot boiling. This was more thrilling and a better watch than his many flicks.
The serious attention directed at him politically was incongruous to the image projected by media, traditional and social. The Captain was always the target of derisive ridicule and rarely deemed respectable. That the Captain was also a ‘vice’ Captain did not help, but then every leader in reel-driven rational TN has a dark past. Still, he is the most memed and caricatured for his gestures, lisp, drawl, slur, swagger and frequent public displays of fury. Such spoofs on his physical traits were extended to his IQ too prompting him to approach the courts. Now, it is this so-called bumbling, dumb man who has had the last laugh.
Captain has now made a mockery of the very enlightened but alternating ‘making and breaking’ news about his alliance with either DMK or BJP. Sure, such speculations, often planted, also occasionally had basis. Parleys were a visual reality. But by keeping his cool and discretion, he has pulled a fast one on the media. Captain’s announcement caught them off guard. And worse for them, it is his very infirmities that could actually endear him to the simple-minded who can readily identify with him. His better half can always be relied upon for coherence and to tie up loose ends lying in his wake.
The list of rejected, dejected suitors is long. Worst hit by the Captain’s knock is DMK. The party was quite upfront in its bid to bring him in. Even the cunning K (read Kalaignar) was so carried away that he declared just a couple of days back in his typical rhetorical flourish: The fruit will ripen any time and fall in the (read DMK) milk bowl. The fruit is now forbidden. Of course, K can be counted on to invoke his forked tongue and give another twist in chaste Tamil to this too. But still the sour grape syndrome cannot be hidden and the self-respect cat is out of the bag.
For Cong this is a bane and boon. As a party it has lost a few thousand marginal votes that could come its way courtesy DMDK in the paltry seats that is thrown at it. But aspirants are not complaining. With Captain turning skipper and skipping their net, there are more seats in the alliance for grabs. But that spells trouble too in the form of more factions and more quarrel. Nagma and Khushboo (no, make that Khushboo and Nagma in alphabetical order to avoid any controversy) have a tough task: of restoring the Cong of Kamaraj and Rajaji to glory under the able guidance of rising and often vanishing star Raul.
At first sights, Captain might have played a hit-wicket by inadvertently helping sworn enemy AIADMK. Conventional poll logic says the anti-incumbency votes will be split, helping the ruling party. But arithmetic is not what concerns the AIADMK leadership. The puratchi thalaivi will know how to put up with the ‘uncouth’ puratchi kalaignar claiming and chanting the name of puratchi thalaivar to her own solid voter base. That is unpalatable.
Anbumani of PMK, who is CM material as certified by his eminent Dr Dad, may see his anti-Dravidian parties plank getting shaken, now and in 2021 too. The People Welfare Front should have no probs in eventually conceding Captain as the leader of the alliance, a euphemism for CM candidate.
BJP resembles a joke about a Sardar who steps into a wrong train headed in the opposite direction. The upper berth from PM to Ministers go towards Poes Garden while the lower ones in TN are headed to the Captain’s lair. Small wonder the latter got sick of the twin-track tactics. The BJP has to now either accept the leadership of Captain or Anbumani. Who knows, it could be Sarathkumar! Whatever, but NDA is Now Defunct Alliance!
Captain hopes to be the dark horse. He is banking on the huge block of voters disenchanted with the wretched legacies of Periyar & Anna, pardon, Thandhai & Arignar, to upgrade his status from Captain to King.
We will not bet on that. But we can surely expect many more memes as the Captain begins his campaign innings!
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