M Karunanidhi, the 82 year old leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was sworn in as the new Tamil Nadu chief Minister. The swearing in ceremony was the final act in Tamil Nadu’s month long political drama.
The Dravidian patriarch was sworn in as the state''s Chief Minister for the fifth time, vowing: “I, M. Karunanidhi, swear to carry out my duties as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and will fulfill their dream of good governance.”
The DMK, with 31 cabinet ministers, will go on to form Tamil Nadu''s first minority government with outside support from its allies.
The state has broken with a 60-year tradition of giving a clear mandate to any one party. To that extent, the May 2006 verdict is likely to be read as the point of a marked shift in regional politics.
With the DMK forming a minority government in Tamil Nadu, it is the Congress, India’s grand old party, that is said to have enjoyed a dramatic resurgence in the state in last week’s local government elections.
The second most spectacular beneficiary of the May 8 polls is said to be the newly floated party of actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, the DMDK, announcing loud and clear: ‘We are the future.’
Vijayakanth created a sensation in his maiden electoral participation, winning from Viruthachalam, overcoming the established PMK by over 13,700 votes.
His DMDK cut into PMK’s vote bank as well as into DMK and AIADMK support base. Contesting all 234 seats, his party polled almost 9 percent of all votes. In 53 seats it was runner-up.
The DMK and its allies, including the Congress, PMK, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Communist Party of India (CPI), won 163 seats, polling a total of 45 percent votes.
In 1967, the DMK routed the Congress to herald a sea change in Indian politics. For the first time, the Congress was told loud and clear that regional parties were there to stay.
It is the same DMK that has now, in alliance with Congress, allowed the latter to increase its seats from 30 in 2001 to 34 now, despite press reports of infighting.
The two Left parties too have increased their strength from 12 legislators to 15, perhaps a sign that their plea for social justice has reached more ears.
The vote for DMK will be a cause for concern for MDMK’s Vaiko as his clout with the Congress-led government in New Delhi may no longer hold. The Congress, in a bid to keep the DMK happy, may sacrifice Vaiko from the central coalition.
The AIADMK and its allies, Vaiko’s MDMK and Dalit Panthers of India, won just 69 seats, polling 41 percent of the votes.
The AIADMK won 60, MDMK six, entering the assembly for the first time, and the Dalit Panthers got two seats.
AIADMK sources said that the caste vote from the Thevars, which always went to the AIADMK, especially in southern districts, had this time been fractured.
One reason could be the AIADMK’s alliance with the Dalit Panthers; another could be Vijayakanth eating into the AIADMK vote bank.
The DMK suffered an unexpected setback in Chennai, losing eight of the 14 seats to AIADMK, again Vijayakanth taking away DMK votes.
The DMK alliance performed better than expected even in rural areas, making inroads into traditional AIADMK pockets and won in areas where Christians and Muslims dominate.
Although the DMK''s manifesto was severely criticized by many, it’s an election that’s clearly won on populist promises. Karunanidhi began his new term by reducing the price of ration rice to Rs 2 a kg, waiving the farmers’ cooperative loans and supplementing the nutritious noon meal given to schoolchildren with two eggs a week.
The Dravidian patriarch was sworn in as the state''s Chief Minister for the fifth time, vowing: “I, M. Karunanidhi, swear to carry out my duties as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and will fulfill their dream of good governance.”
The DMK, with 31 cabinet ministers, will go on to form Tamil Nadu''s first minority government with outside support from its allies.
The state has broken with a 60-year tradition of giving a clear mandate to any one party. To that extent, the May 2006 verdict is likely to be read as the point of a marked shift in regional politics.
With the DMK forming a minority government in Tamil Nadu, it is the Congress, India’s grand old party, that is said to have enjoyed a dramatic resurgence in the state in last week’s local government elections.
The second most spectacular beneficiary of the May 8 polls is said to be the newly floated party of actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, the DMDK, announcing loud and clear: ‘We are the future.’
Vijayakanth created a sensation in his maiden electoral participation, winning from Viruthachalam, overcoming the established PMK by over 13,700 votes.
His DMDK cut into PMK’s vote bank as well as into DMK and AIADMK support base. Contesting all 234 seats, his party polled almost 9 percent of all votes. In 53 seats it was runner-up.
The DMK and its allies, including the Congress, PMK, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Communist Party of India (CPI), won 163 seats, polling a total of 45 percent votes.
In 1967, the DMK routed the Congress to herald a sea change in Indian politics. For the first time, the Congress was told loud and clear that regional parties were there to stay.
It is the same DMK that has now, in alliance with Congress, allowed the latter to increase its seats from 30 in 2001 to 34 now, despite press reports of infighting.
The two Left parties too have increased their strength from 12 legislators to 15, perhaps a sign that their plea for social justice has reached more ears.
The vote for DMK will be a cause for concern for MDMK’s Vaiko as his clout with the Congress-led government in New Delhi may no longer hold. The Congress, in a bid to keep the DMK happy, may sacrifice Vaiko from the central coalition.
The AIADMK and its allies, Vaiko’s MDMK and Dalit Panthers of India, won just 69 seats, polling 41 percent of the votes.
The AIADMK won 60, MDMK six, entering the assembly for the first time, and the Dalit Panthers got two seats.
AIADMK sources said that the caste vote from the Thevars, which always went to the AIADMK, especially in southern districts, had this time been fractured.
One reason could be the AIADMK’s alliance with the Dalit Panthers; another could be Vijayakanth eating into the AIADMK vote bank.
The DMK suffered an unexpected setback in Chennai, losing eight of the 14 seats to AIADMK, again Vijayakanth taking away DMK votes.
The DMK alliance performed better than expected even in rural areas, making inroads into traditional AIADMK pockets and won in areas where Christians and Muslims dominate.
Although the DMK''s manifesto was severely criticized by many, it’s an election that’s clearly won on populist promises. Karunanidhi began his new term by reducing the price of ration rice to Rs 2 a kg, waiving the farmers’ cooperative loans and supplementing the nutritious noon meal given to schoolchildren with two eggs a week.
