Opinion: Son-Rise Central - Reality Of India's Democracy

Political parties in India can rant and rave about nepotism and dynastic politics all they can but they hardly practice what they preach. It was another 'son-rise' moment in Dravidian politics when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin elevated his son Udhayanidhi Stalin as his deputy on September 29. Udhayanidhi, 46, is officially number two in the government and his party DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam). He is in charge of planning and development, poverty alleviation, and rural indebtedness in addition to his current responsibilities as minister for youth welfare and sports development.

Udhayanidhi debuted in politics hardly four years ago and won his first election three years ago. But the first-time MLA was inducted as a minister in December 2022. For any other politician, this meteoric rise would have been unthinkable.

Indian politics is replete with similar 'son-rise' stories. Running the party comes as a birthright and seasoned politicians are forced to step back. This ensures that wealth accumulated through political corruption and power remains concentrated within one family. The unspoken rule is that with the amount of unaccounted wealth that politicians generate or stash, it is not possible to involve outsiders.

To retain leverage, keeping it all within the family is the best bet, no questions asked. It is akin to businessmen passing the mantle to their progeny. While for professions like law, medicine or science, merit is key, politics follows a different trajectory.

From Congress to the BJP, Samajwadi Party to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) to National Conference and PDP (Peoples Democratic Party); Telugu Desam, BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) to DMK, RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) to LJP (Lok Janshakti Party), Janata Dal Secular, NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), Shiv Sena, and INLD (Indian National Lok Dal), the list is long and exceptions are rare.

Quick promotion

Actor-turned-politician Udhayanidhi is following the same path as his father Stalin, who was made Deputy Chief Minister by his grandfather (Stalin's father) M Karunanidhi - DMK founder and former chief minister - after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

The Badals did it in Punjab; Sukhbir Singh Badal was made deputy to his father, then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.

DMK supporters attribute Udhayanidhi's promotion to two factors - the need to build up the party's next-generation leadership and preps for the 2026 Tamil Nadu election. Stalin junior is also part of a five-member coordination committee of senior leaders that is planning strategies for the state polls, making him an integral part of the decision-making process. With Stalin not keeping good health, there is a buzz that Udhayanidhi will step in more actively as his father's deputy in order to reduce his father's burden as well as establish himself as the second-in-command.

Stalin also wants to counter Tamil actor Vijay, who recently launched his party TVK (Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam) and has signalled an electoral debut in the forthcoming assembly elections.

"DMK needed to project a younger face as second-in-line. Udhayanidhi's performance has been impressive both in the party and government, which has been the main consideration for his elevation," says MR Venkatesh, a senior journalist based in Chennai.

He adds, "Change is the only constant, said his father Stalin recently, indicating that relatively younger leaders would be taking new positions, in the interest of the party, as DMK has also emerged as an important player in the Opposition spectrum at the national level."

A common thread

Many political dynasties like the Thackerays and the Pawars in Maharashtra, the Yadavs and Paswans in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the NTR and YSR families in Andhra Pradesh, the Chautalas in Haryana, JMM in Jharkhand and the Badals in Punjab, have faced splits in the past.

It is also seen that other than the son or daughter, the patriarch or the head of the party considers none in the dynasty or party reliable in the succession plan. As the political aspirations of other family members or a capable leader grows, there is trouble in the family and party. The most common consequence of this confrontation is a split in the party, as we saw in the case of the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra and the Samajwadi Party in UP. In the case of the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, a capable and ambitious leader who rose from the ranks, was overlooked by party patriarch HD Deve Gowda in favour of his son HD Kumaraswamy. Siddaramaiah quit the JDS and joined the Congress. The rest is history.

However, not all relatives have benefited from the generosity of family. BSP's Mayawati anointed her nephew Akash Anand as the party's national coordinator only to unceremoniously sack him. Then she reinstated him.

Perhaps the most successful nephew is Abhishek Banerjee, the son of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's brother. He has firmly consolidated his position in the Trinamool Congress.

One can debate that political heirs are successful because people vote them to power. "The swipes against dynasty politics have become irrelevant as all major parties, including BJP and Congress, have it. It is not that merit is precluded, for unless they perform, they automatically become a liability to the party. This is the trend all over in politics today," says Venkatesh.

"The entry point looks easy... getting a ticket as so-and-so's kin in the party. But they have to perform even better to retain their position. It is not the old-world kinship entitlement anymore," he adds.

(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author