Summit challenge

In his first term as chief minister, M.K. Stalin will have to deal with a strong opposition, an unfriendly Central government and an economy ravaged by the pandemic

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

As the trends began showing a convincing victory for the DMK on May 2, a senior IAS officer paid a quick visit to the Chittaranjan Salai residence of party supremo M.K. Stalin, with a bouquet of roses and a handful of files. The senior bureaucrat, who had worked with Stalin when he was the mayor of Chennai, was the first high-profile visitor to personally greet the incoming chief minister. The roses were to congratulate him, while the files were to brief him on the surging Covid-19 cases and the threat posed by the pandemic.

This is for the first time that someone other than M. Karunanidhi is taking over as chief minister of Tamil Nadu representing the DMK, and it is a major challenge for the party and its leadership. The previous DMK regime, which was in power from 2006 to 2011, had earned the wrath of the people for its alleged abuse of power. As the 68-year-old Stalin gets ready to take over as chief minister, the question doing the rounds on social media and in the minds of the people is, “Has the DMK changed?”