Why CM Stalin is struggling amid growing challenges – alliance rifts to governance ‘gaps’

Despite scoring resounding wins in multiple elections in Tamil Nadu in recent years, the M K Stalin dispensation has now been facing mounting challenges on various fronts ranging from the DMK organisation and party-led alliance to the state administration.

Last week, tension within the ruling alliance flared up after former state CPM secretary K Balakrishnan launched a scathing attack on the DMK-led government, alleging that the state police denied the CPM permission for holding a rally during the party state conference in Villupuram.

Addressing the conference, Balakrishnan asked: “CM M K Stalin, have you imposed an undeclared emergency in Tamil Nadu?”

Balakrishnan’s remarks gave ammunition to the Opposition parties, including the AIADMK and the BJP, following which the DMK mouthpiece Murasoli published a front-page piece castigating him for attacking party president and CM Stalin despite having access to him.

Subsequently, senior DMK leader A Raja went after Communist leaders, saying at an event that the ideology of communism declined as its leaders turned “selfish and corrupt”.

Hitting back at Raja, the CPM’s new state secretary P Shanmugam rejected his allegations against the communist leaders as “unfair and unfounded”. Shanmugam also echoed Balakrishnan’s criticism of the DMK-led government’s alleged bid to curb protests in the state.

The Stalin government has been plagued by several incidents of police high-handedness and administrative lapses, which are alleged to have betrayed “systemic gaps in governance”.

The hooch tragedies in Villupuram (May 2023) and Kallakurichi (June 2024) claimed about 70 lives. The state suffered several cases of major violence like the Kallakurichi bus burning incident in 2022 over the death of a school student. In Chennai last year, state BSP president K Armstrong was murdered. Later, the state witnessed outrage over alleged sexual assault on a female student in Anna University, in which the FIR’s language and its leak fuelled public and judicial ire.

Despite the police swiftly arresting the culprits in both the Armstrong murder case and the Anna University sexual assault incident, Chennai Police commissioner A Arun allegedly exacerbated the rows by saying that “We will teach them (rowdies) in the language they understand”.

Ramu Manivannan, former political science professor of University of Madras, called the hooch tragedies an “issue of systemic failure”. “This could be separated from the ruling party (DMK). Systemic corruption caused this tragedy on such a scale,” he said. “But when the same tragedy repeats a year later, it suggests serious flaws in the government’s preventive measures.”

On the controversy involving the Chennai police chief, Manivannan said: “Who lets him speak beyond his brief? Tackling crime is your job under the law. There’s no need to boast about using some other language. Ideally, the Home Minister should handle such officers and provide political briefings. The lack of political briefing for the police turned the Anna University case against the government, even after the accused was promptly arrested.”

Another row erupted following a recent press conference by V Varun Kumar, Trichy’s superintendent of police, who publicly demanded an apology from Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him, sparking a war of words. “Varun had the right to pursue legal action against Seeman or his party members. But who let him speak like a politician against another politician at length at a press conference? It sets a bad precedent within the police force, and backfires on the government. There’s no oversight to check officers like Varun or Arun,” said a senior home ministry official.

Some DMK ministers like K Ponmudy are alleged to have “dented” the government’s image by using “insulting language” at events. “There is no fear. If something goes wrong, nobody is held accountable. That’s why we fail to prevent many avoidable tragedies and controversies,” said a senior government secretary.

DMK MLA A Soundarapandian recently criticised the party on social media for “sidelining” him at public events, exposing internal discontent.

Several government insiders point to unresolved issues like the 2018 police firing on anti-Sterlite protesters at Thoothukudi, in which no officer has been held accountable despite the DMK being at the helm since 2021.

The government’s “apathetic” response to the 2023 custodial torture incident in Ambasmaudram near Tirunelveli, in which an IPS officer allegedly extracted the teeth of several men, has also been cited by some government insiders as “cases of CM Stalin’s inability to enforce corrective measures”, which, they add, has “emboldened errant bureaucrats or party members to act recklessly”.

Several leaders and observers acknowledge Stalin’s “accessibility and empathy as his distinguishing qualities”. However, a DMK MP said, “A CM being too good alone cannot bridge systemic gaps in governance. The CM should tighten the nuts and bolts of the system.”
Manivannan said: “Stalin the opposition leader was stronger than Stalin the CM. But CM Stalin is more magnanimous than his late father, ex-CM Karunanidhi. He is accessible and empathetic. However, he lacks a team of ministers or officials who have his qualities, with the exception of a few.”

However, under Karunanidhi, the DMK leadership included crisis managers, and seasoned negotiators, who defused troubles before they grew. Such a “buffer” is missing in the Stalin regime, which has been “aggravated” by the elevation of his son Udhayanidhi as the deputy CM, alleged a DMK critic.

Despite its struggles, the DMK has benefited from an apparently weak and fragmented Opposition in the state. The party is however increasingly facing heat from allies like the VCK and the CPM, who are voicing their resentment openly now.

A senior DMK leader said, “Stalin prioritised the interest of allies, even ceding DMK’s stronghold seat of Dindigul to CPM in 2024 despite internal opposition. Yet allies like CPM and VCK attack the government publicly. Internal discord within the DMK and the party-led alliance would only harm the government.”

Stay informed with access to our award-winning journalism.

Avoid misinformation with trusted, accurate reporting.

Make smarter decisions with insights that matter.