Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) working chief MK Stalin and other party members, including the party's MLAs, are staging a hunger strike across Tamil Nadu to protest against the trust vote that took place in the state Assembly on February 18, which Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami won 122-11.
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The trust vote, however, did not take place peacefully. Stalin conducted a sit-in protest that led to further chaos in the Assembly's Well and subsequently he and his party's MLAs were thrown out of the House. Stalin later showed the media his torn shirt while coming out of the Assembly. He was also arrested later and an FIR was lodged against him for violation of public order.
According to observers, Stalin is trying to send across the message through his hunger strike that he stands in the interest of the people. The tug-of-power for power between O Panneerselvam and Sasikala Natarajan in the AIADMK camp had led to condemnation from across the state and as neither of them got the prize they were aiming for, the DMK leadership is all the more eager to capitalise on the ruling party's inner turmoil.
With both of the long-time faces of the state's politics now behind (Jayalalithaa is dead while one doesn't expect the nonagenarian M Karunanidhi to make a big return), it is logical for the next prominent face, i.e., Stalin, to believe that he deserves a chance more than either Palaniswami, Sasikala or Panneerselvam to become the state's chief minister.
Stalin himself began his fast along with senior leader KN Nehru at 9 am on Wednesday at Uzhavar Sandhai grounds in Trichy.
However, Stalin is also cautious that his image is not projected as one of a disruptor and as the future leader of the DMK who the state's people can trust whiel takes on the Opposition. If elections are to held anytime soon in Tamil Nadu, he would want to position himself as a worthy chief ministerial candidate who can guide his party to victory against the AIADMK.
In the 2016 elections, the AIADMK had won 134 seats while the DMK got 89. The difference is not big and given the current ruckus in the AIADMK, the DMK would give itself an outside chance in case there are snap polls now.
