Udhayanidhi Stalin's rise in DMK has been meteoric. Within months of campaigning for the party in the 2019 polls, he was elevated as youth wing chief of the party. He has now emerged as a star campaigner for the party and is also contesting the April 6 assembly polls. DH's E.T.B. Sivapriyan spoke to him during his campaign trail. Excerpts:
Q: You have been on the campaign trail seeking support for DMK since November 2020. How has been the response for people and what is the mood in Tamil Nadu, according to you?
A: When I began the campaign, I was detained for three days continuously by citing one reason or the other. When they released me at 6 pm on day one, I resumed my campaign, and the next day too, I directly went for campaigning after I was released at 8.30 pm. The third day, they kept me under custody till 1 am and when I was finally released, I saw a huge crowd outside the place where I was kept. The AIADMK government, in fact, gave enough publicity for my campaign by detaining me. Before the elections were announced, people would raise their hands to show Rising Sun (DMK) or Hand (Congress) symbols, but now they raise their thumb and say we are on the path to victory. I could see people yearn for a regime change in Tamil Nadu. People want Thalaivar (M K Stalin) to be the Chief Minister after the April 6 assembly polls.
Q: You attack the BJP at the same breath you criticise the AIADMK. BJP finds mention in almost all your speeches. Is the anti-BJP sentiment among people real or is it just being raked up by the Opposition?
A: It is real and if someone wants to witness it, they should go to the field. Even I thought the people of Tamil Nadu punished Narendra Modi once in the 2019 polls. But the anti-people policies of the BJP, their behaviour and AIADMK government nodding its head to whatever the BJP says have kept the sentiments alive in the state. Be it, Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, or farm bills, the BJP keeps demonstrating that it is anti-people. And BJP and AIADMK cannot be seen as two entities. When Modi holds the hands of both Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam after bringing them together, it is nothing but a signal that he is controlling the AIADMK. BJP remote controls the AIADMK government as it possesses all files relating to corrupt deals of the ministers. On my part, I remind people about demonetisation, GST and NEET that has claimed the lives of so many people during the campaign. People remember that there was no NEET as long as M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa were alive. I tell people that AIADMK signs at the dotted line shown by BJP and people agree.
Q: The BJP says it has grown in Tamil Nadu after the 2019 elections. Your views?
A: They might have increased their presence. I am not saying BJP is not working here and that the party does not have a presence at all. All I say is people do not like BJP's narrative and their brand of politics.
Q: DMK criticises AIADMK for aligning with BJP. But Chief Minister EPS has been saying in his meetings that the DMK did align with BJP in the past, and why so much noise is being made now?
A: Yes. DMK had an alliance with BJP under A B Vajpayee. Our leader Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) supported the BJP based on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and told him clearly the DMK's stand on certain issues. It is AIADMK under madam Jayalalithaa that aligned with BJP after we left the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). And does not the current AIADMK leadership remember Jayalalithaa publicly apologising for tying up with BJP and calling the latter an evil force. Why did AIADMK ally with BJP now? They should be answering these questions.
Q: The constant criticism against you is that Udhayanidhi Stalin has got undue promotion in DMK just because he is the son of party president M K Stalin. In 2019, you were appointed as youth wing secretary and you have now been given a ticket to contest assembly polls. Your response?
A: Many criticised the decision to make me the chief of the youth wing. When people sought my reaction, I told them to wait for me to perform and deliver results. Getting a post is not important. One has to prove and today we have over 22 lakh members in the DMK Youth Wing. This is what I have done in the past two years. And now, thalaivar (Stalin) has handed me over to the people of Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency. Let the people of the constituency decide my political future. It is for people to take a call on this. If they feel I am just a dynast or that I am not suited for politics, let them take a decision.