Chennai: “Of the gifts you received from your cadres on your 70th birthday, which one is closest to your heart?” an unseen male voice asks M.K.Stalin in Tamil.
When the camera pans to him, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader makes a show of straightening a sheaf of papers. Then, he looks into the camera, smiles, and says: “Ungalil Oruvan ane yenne thailavar aga terntetu azhaga parthadai vida periya parisu irruka muduyuma (Can there be a bigger prize than you electing me, one of you, as your leader)?”
This exchange was part of the latest episode of Stalin’s Ungalil Oruvan-Bathilgal (one among you answers), a question-and-answer show aired regularly on the YouTube channels of the DMK and Stalin. The platform is a way for the CM to address “current affairs and social justice-related topics”, according to sources from the party.
Unaglil Oruvan (one among you) is also the name of Stalin’s autobiography, which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi released in March 2022.
Initiated, according to party sources, in 2013, the programme has Stalin, clad in his signature veshti and white shirt, answering a set of questions compiled by the DMK and the Chief Minister’s Office.
While the DMK is unwilling to divulge details about the origins of the questions or those involved with the programme, citing confidentiality, party spokesperson A. Saravanan told ThePrint that Ungalil Oruvan-Bathilgal helps rally the party’s cadres.
“These interactions give the confidence that the leadership never strays away from our ideological battles,” he said. “This is one way of staying in touch and constantly reassuring the cadres that the leadership is with them.”
The opposition, meanwhile, has alleged that Stalin is trying to emulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat — a monthly radio broadcast that sees the PM address a host of issues, from farmer’s problems to the government’s schemes.
“Travelling by train, sudden inspections, and a programme similar to Mann ki Baat all have clear traits of PM Modi’s style of governance,” said All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (AIADMK) spokesperson Kovai Sathyan. He was referring to Stalin’s 143-km train ride to Vellore in February and his surprise visit to a school to monitor the food served there.
Political analysts, however, say Stalin’s show is a tool to help him connect with the public.
“The main intention of this interaction is for the CM to be close to the people,” said A. Ayyanathan, a Chennai-based senior political analyst. This, he added, was a departure from the usual practice of party leaders limiting their interactions with the public to election canvassing.
“Imagine the impact on the person whose question gets answered (in the programme),” Ayyanathan said.
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‘Bridging gaps’, with the odd potshot
Analysts claim that since Stalin took the CM’s chair in 2021, he has been attempting to bridge the gap with the masses.
Aazhi Senthilnathan, another Chennai-based political analyst, said Stalin’s outreach attempts establish him as a “people’s CM”, unlike his predecessors J.Jayalalithaa and even his own father, M Karunanidhi.
A recent example, according to Senthilnathan, is Stalin’s “field visits” across four districts earlier this year. The show, he added, also represents an attempt to engage with the public. Last month, for instance, Stalin addressed the rumoured attacks on migrant workers in the state and said the community was safe in Tamil Nadu.
However, Stalin has also used the show to hit out at opponents. In February, for instance, he took a potshot at Narendra Modi, saying he had learnt the “art” of speaking for hours without answering from the PM. In March, he jibed at Governor R.N. Ravi, with whom he has been at loggerheads over the “stalling” of various bills. During the show, Stalin said “governors only have a mouth and no ears”.
Format of the show, echoes of Karunanidhi
Typically in Ungalil Oruvan-Bathilgal, an unseen male or a female voice reads out a question, which Stalin eventually answers.
The topics touched upon in the ‘Q&A’ are published on social media as #UngalilOruvanAnswers.
Despite the opposition AIADMK’s allegations that Ungalil Oruvan was modelled after Modi’s Mann Ki Baat, DMK sources claim that the programme had, in fact, begun in 2013.
Notably, Stalin’s father, who was CM for five terms, also made attempts to establish a connect with party cadres and the public. From 1968 until his death in 2018, ‘Kalaignar’ Karunanidhi regularly wrote letters to the party’s cadre. Called Udanpirapu Kaditham (letter to brethren), Karunanidhi wrote his views on various issues in the DMK mouthpiece Murosoli and Kalaignar TV.
A compendium of 4,041 letters was published in 54 parts in September 2022.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a DMK functionary said Ungalil Oruvan Bathilgal is an extension of Karunanidhi’s Udanpirapu Kaditham.
Senthilnathan pointed out that even if the show is driven by the DMK, Stalin’s voice emerges distinctly.
“These question-answer sessions are mostly addressed in the capacity of the CM of Tamil Nadu and not as DMK party chief and that is evident from his replies,” he said.
DMK ‘understands power of media’
Amid advancing technology and growing connectivity, shows such as Ungalil Oruvan Bathilgal can be an effective way for a party to espouse views on pertinent issues to voters, say analysts.
According to Senthilnathan, the DMK has always been a party that understood the power of the media.
“The DMK as a party has been a media-centric party,” he said. “Any new media and they knew how to use it, be it cinema, newspapers, or regional TV channels. They are always investing in the media.”
According to Ayyanathan, Ungalil Oruvan Bathilgal stands apart in the state because of Stalin’s distinctive messaging.
“His message is clear, I will work as ungalil oruvan (one amongst you). He has been doing this and not forgetting the commitment (to the people), which no other leaders are doing today,” he added.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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