Chennai: As many as 200 bikers, brandishing DMK flags, have been zooming across Tamil Nadu since 15 November with one motto — to spread the message of their leader and state minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, asking people to join the “fight against fascist forces” at the party’s second youth conference in Salem.
The meet is scheduled for 17 December and has “state rights retrieval” as its theme.
The “DMK riders”, as these bikers are called, are the “brand ambassadors” and “followers” of Udhayanidhi, A. Raja Tamilmaran, an organiser of the bike rally, told ThePrint Thursday.
“They are talking to the people about their rights that have been taken away by the central government,” he added.
Udhayanidhi, 45, the minister for youth welfare and sports development in the Tamil Nadu government led by his father M.K. Stalin, is secretary of the DMK’s youth wing.
Members of the youth wing told ThePrint that the message being spread by the DMK riders pertained to state rights, language rights, and about education needing to be a state subject.
The DMK riders have been working towards the signature campaign launched by the party last month to abolish the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). It aims at getting 50 lakh signatures of the Tamil Nadu public in 50 days.
The bikers have so far gotten over 15 lakh signatures from the people, and 50 lakh signatures will be collected before the conference in December, the youth wing members said.
While the conference is the first under Udhayanidhi’s leadership, it is the second since the DMK youth wing was formed in 1980. The first such conference was held in 2007 in Tirunelveli, under M. K. Stalin’s leadership.
For Udhayanidhi, the political trajectory has gone faster than his father’s, said political analysts.
“The Salem conference is an image-building exercise for Udhayanidhi as the natural successor to Stalin. They will want it to be a grand gala,” political analyst Sumanth C. Raman told ThePrint.
Salem being chosen for the conference is also well thought-out for two reasons — one, it has long been a bastion of DMK’s state rival AIADMK, and two, it is the home turf of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).
“Salem has not been traditionally strong for the DMK, so they would want to bolster their stand there,” Sumanth said.
While the DMK continues its ground work, the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu don’t seem too impressed.
The AIADMK has slammed the conference as a show being put forth for the media, while the BJP, in power at the Centre, has claimed that for the youth in Tamil Nadu, its state chief K. Annamalai was a far better choice as leader.
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The rising ‘son’
In 2007, it was widely speculated by the Tamil Nadu media that the Tirunelveli youth wing conference would be the stage where then CM and DMK patriarch Karunanidhi would announce his younger son Stalin as his successor.
But Stalin, then 54, had to wait another two years to be named the first deputy CM of the state.
Udhayanidhi entered politics as DMK youth wing secretary in 2019, contested his first election in 2021 and was made a state minister the following year.
In his first term itself, he has been entrusted with multiple portfolios — poverty alleviation programme, rural indebtedness, and Stalin’s pet department, special programme implementation, apart from handling youth welfare and sports development.
Unlike his father, the young DMK scion will not have to wait too long for a bigger role in the party and government, said political analysts.
“Udhayanidhi does not have any opposition within the party. The respect he is getting is second to the CM. Just like how Stalin in 1982 got the youth wing under him, Udhayanidhi is engaged in the task of consolidating his position in the party,” another analyst, Priyan Srinivasan, told ThePrint.
In the last four years, Udhayanidhi has been focussed on building the youth wing and played a key role in enrolling 22 lakh new members, strengthening the party’s organisational structure, said Priyan.
“By building the party, Udhayanidhi has been strengthening his position as well. It is a win-win situation for both,” added Priyan.
As minister too, Udhayanidhi has been able to showcase success. As sports minister he was able to bring in many firsts to Tamil Nadu, such as the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament and World Surfing League QS 3000. The state will also witness the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League in December.
Improving sports infrastructure has become priority since Udhayanidhi took charge, officials of the state sports department said, adding that the target is to have at least 200 stadiums by 2026.
“Sports is a great soft power. When a sports championship happens, infrastructure develops with it and people are able to witness what the state can deliver. This gives more legitimacy and confidence to investors to invest in Tamil Nadu,” DMK spokesperson Salem Dharanidharan told ThePrint.
Amid violence in Manipur, Tamil Nadu and its sports department won hearts when athletes from the north-eastern state were invited to train in the state.
Among the sporting community, Udhayanidhi is known for his close interactions and motivation. For the people of his constituency Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, he is their “Anna who arranged for them to watch the Indian Premier League matches in Chennai”.
With regard to his father’s pet department, special programme implementation, Udhayanidhi has been able to assess the reach of the CM’s welfare measures while travelling the length and breadth of the state in the last 11 months. He has conducted regular meetings with district collectorates to assess the success of various schemes under the special programmes department, said senior government officials on the condition of anonymity.
Speaking to ThePrint, members of Udhayanidhi’s team noted the young leader’s enthusiasm and desire to focus on the grassroots-level.
“He has covered 45 of the DMK’s 70 organisational units in the state. He loves interacting with the cadres, who too love him for his simplicity. He does not have any airs as the grandson of Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) or as the son of Thalapathy (Stalin). He takes selfies with everyone and wants the cadres to be happy after meeting him,” said one of the youth wing members.
Udhayanidhi’s ‘ambassadors’
In groups of 50, the DMK riders have been covering daily at least seven to eight constituencies, which have been divided into four zones titled Valluvar, Periyar, Anna and Karunanidhi.
“We were surprised by the kind of reception we got,” said K. Illamaran, part of the bikers’ team, adding: “The bikers have been felicitated with garlands and shawls and have drawn appreciation throughout their journey. For the on-ground cadres, it is like an election fever is setting in.”
Not just DMK supporters, the bikers are trying to convince the general public as well to join the youth conference, said Tamilmaran.
At the inauguration of the bike rally, Udhayanidhi had told the riders to carry the message of the “authoritarian attitude” of the central government and its “interference and denial of state rights”.
He had said: “Even though Tamil Nadu has given Rs 25,000 crore to the Centre through taxes in the past nine years, the Narendra Modi-led government has given back only Rs 2,000 crore. We have to fight with the Centre to win back our rights for developing Tamil Nadu.”
Tamilmaran explained that from the bike to bikers’ uniforms, everything had been customised to spread the message of the youth conference and DMK ideology.
The helmets of the riders have the images of the three former leaders of the DMK — Periyar, Annadurai, and Karunanidhi.
“Our head will be safeguarded by the three leaders,” Tamilmaran said.
The T-shirts and waterproof jackets the riders wear have also been customised. On the right pocket of the jacket is the statement “banning NEET is our target”, while the left side has images of Stalin and Udhayanidhi.
Further, the right sleeve of the T-shirt has ‘Kalaignar 100’ printed on it to celebrate the birth centenary of Karunanidhi and the left sleeve has the image of a bull, an animal which has been used in the party mouthpiece Murasoli as well.
The DMK riders’ bikes, a Royal Enfield Bullet with a 350cc engine, hold the DMK flag with the image of a rising sun. “The 350cc was chosen because it is a reliable bike and also for its tagline — made like a gun, goes like a bullet,” said Tamilmaran.
From riding in pairs of two to ensuring there is no traffic congestion, to compulsorily wearing helmets and abiding by the speed limit of 40 km/hour, the bikers are spreading awareness on road safety as well.
They also hold street corner campaigns daily in each assembly constituency, with speakers addressing the issues of social justice, Kalaignar’s writings and achievements, state autonomy and the NEET ban.
DMK leaders such as Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi (who also worked on designing the event), K. Poondi Kalaivanan and K. Ponmudi have also participated in the rides in their respective constituencies.
The riders will end their rally in Salem on 27 November, which is also the birthday of Udhayanidhi.
For many in the DMK, Udhayanidhi’s choice of Salem as venue of the second youth conference is more than just about political strategy.
Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), the parent organisation of the DMK and the original flag-bearer of Dravidian ideology, had originated in 1944 during a Salem conference of the Justice Party.
It was Annadurai, the founder of DMK, who moved a resolution announcing the decision of Periyar to merge the Self-Respect Movement with the Justice Party and form the social organisation DK.
The DK was formed with the intention to fight for women’s right, against caste discrimination, for self-respect in marriage, against superstition and for rationalism.
Tamilmaran told ThePrint: “The origin of the DK was in Salem. That is where the party was initially structured. Udhayanidhi wanted to start the movement to fight fascist forces from Salem like the DK was started.”
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‘CM face in 2026’
Udhayanidhi, political analysts believe, will be given a lead role in the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign of the DMK.
“In 2024, he is likely to be given the deputy CM’s post and in 2026 (assembly election), there are even chances of him being projected as the CM face of the DMK,” said Priyan, adding that within the party, the senior leadership had accepted that Udhayanidhi would be the next in command.
Priyan also pointed out that the young leader had been invited by senior ministers in the Tamil Nadu cabinet to several inauguration ceremonies, the latest being of Namakkal Government Medical College and Hospital on 21 November.
Udhayanidhi standing his ground in the wake of criticism over his Sanatana Dharma remarks also seems to have consolidated his support among hardcore DMK voters.
Opposition’s criticism
Opposition parties in the state have, however, been critical of the goings-on in the DMK.
Speaking to ThePrint, AIADMK leader and former MP J. Jayavardhan said: “The DMK is a corporate-style party and Udhayanidhi’s growth is only because of his father. As far as the talk over Udhayanidhi’s work is concerned, these are all just projections, a show being put forth by the DMK using paid media.”
He added that the DMK’s interest was “only for a single family” and not for the public.
“Palanivel Thiaga Rajan’s audio leak said Rs 30,000 crore is being amassed by Udhayanidhi and Stalin’s son-in-law V. Sabareesan. So, they have the resources to make these kinds of projections and it is natural. But what is the ground reality?” asked Jayavardhan.
Regarding the DMK scion’s rivals, except for BJP’s Annamalai, there are not many popular leaders under 50 years in the top ranks of political parties.
The BJP, which has been trying hard to make inroads into the Dravidian state, has been using corruption as its battle cry. The BJP had in April released a purported expose, called the DMK files, allegedly exposing corruption in the party.
Stating that Annamalai, who is a former police officer, had more experience and knowledge of governance, BJP’s Tamil Nadu vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy told ThePrint: “While any elected MLA has the right to be made the CM, the question is whether Udhayanidhi, if given the role, will have the experience, knowledge, and maturity.”
“Udhayanidhi’s lack of maturity has been clear on several occasions. Without knowing anything about Sanatana Dharma, he said something just to attract minority votes. I don’t think the people of the state will accept him as CM,” he added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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