In the Tamil movie "Mandela," released in 2021, there is a sarcastic scene where an old lady says to vote for MGR. From a psychoanalytic view, this reflects the tendency of many people, especially in villages. They don’t recognize the party or the symbol at all. There is a famous phrase that states, “It is not about what is said, it’s all about who says it.” It is said that cinema personalities have an edge in politics because their faces are registered among the public. But in reality, does an ideology need a charismatic face to sustain the party? Let's delve deep into the matter.
The Dravidian Dominance:
C.N. Annadurai, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK party founder, was considered a charismatic leader for his oratory skills and administration. He utilized the influence of cinema personalities such as M.G. Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, and Karunanidhi to spread Dravidian principles to the common man. After Annadurai's demise, Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister, and MGR founded ADMK. His popularity and political experience made him CM for 13 years. Then the ADMK was headed by Jayalalithaa. The narrative was not between DMK vs. ADMK or Rising Sun vs. Two Leaves. It was prudently constructed between Kalaignar vs. Amma. Both parties positioned their leaders as the faces of their party. This narrative is still being constructed with the present leaders of both parties.
The Young Blood Yearn:
The year 2010 invited a new player into the political arena with the sound of an “alternative force” named Seeman. He also came from a cinema background and launched his party, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), in 2010, which focuses on Tamil nationalism. Seeman is well-known for his oratory skills. He targeted the young vote banks and has been growing steadily to date. Alaguvel, an NTK voter, said, “My father is an ADMK man. So I had an affection for that party without any political understanding. But after the arrival of Seeman, I can understand the political scenario in a practical way and in an easier manner by him. I can relate to his speeches easily. He can speak without any preparation and can even include Puranaanooru and Aganaanooru effortlessly in his speeches.” The NTK cadres and a chunk of youngsters consider Seeman a charismatic leader and believe he would bring change.
Similarly, the year 2024 also witnessed a new player from the cinema background, Vijay. He launched his party, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), in February 2024 and announced his entry into electoral politics. The party saw its first state conference recently with a major turnout of youngsters. We can clearly state that TVK will rely on the youngsters' vote bank like NTK. Unlike Seeman with Tamil Nationalism, Vijay doesn't want to fit into one specific ideology. He refers to Dravidam and Tamil Nationalism as two eyes.
Jaya Suriya, a TVK member, said, "Our Thalapathy came to politics for a change. Because of the poor administration of both parties over 50 years, we youngsters support Vijay for a good cause. After his speech, I am interested in reading more about politics." We asked why they supports Vijay since he took the DMK ideology. "The ideology was good, but their performance did not match their political stand. As Vijay claims, they fool the people by speaking ideologies for political gains. Take the example of stormwater drains in Chennai. They said that the government allotted 4,000 crores for the project. But there is no explicit record of the expense," he said.
We can observe that some youngsters have an interest in Dravidian ideology but avoid the parties that hold the ideology. So they consider Vijay as the latest face that resembles the dravidian ideology to the youngsters.
Kiran, a content creator, said, "I have been following the RSS since childhood, and it went high after the charisma of Narendra Modi. Not any national party, even the BJP, got the majority after Modi's arrival as PM. Ideology makes the party thrive, but the charismatic leader makes the party hold its position even stronger. Even RSS, backed with a strong organizational structure, needs a face like Modi to propagate deeper at the root level. We all have seen the general elections last year. BJP faced the elections without a CM candidate because of 'Modi's Magic'. They also won Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. One of the ten reasons for Communism's downfall is the lack of a charismatic face. In Tamil Nadu, MGR held his CM position for 13 consecutive years as his charisma was his major reason. Even Annamalai is a charismatic personality and has a good image among the youngsters. People who don't like BJP like Annamalai for his educated and civil service background. Some may hail him as 'the right person in the wrong party.' So the messenger is more important than the message."
Ideology or Charisma:
"The fall of interest in politics among youngsters was after the emergence of sports, technology, internet, etc. They shrink their world by running for their living daily. They don't have a strong reason to read politics or history since an inspiring icon is lacking for them. When popular cinema personalities enter politics like Vijay, the initial momentum among their fans and a chunk of youngsters is undeniable. But no leader can emerge as an icon of an ideology overnight. He has to withstand it over a long period. Seeman didn't attract youngsters in a short while. He consistently speaks Tamil Nationalism for about 10 years. To withstand, Vijay also needs an in-depth study about it. Periyar is known for his atheistic view among the common man. Skipping the core part of him will eventually earn the anger of Periyarists," says P. Ramana Hariharan, a history student.
Manoj, a research scholar, said, "Ideology is not a simple thing. It decides the path and the political correctness of a party. After the installation of a banner of Ambedkar, a group of TVK members joined another party. Vijay has the challenge to change the casteist mentality of his following. There was a popular myth in India that people accept persons as leaders if they belong to a dominant caste, or white-skinned, or are great English orators. But the former Chief Minister and DMK president Karunanidhi was not among any of the bars they assumed. Though his actions are subject to debate, Tamil society recognized him as a charismatic leader. An ideology can still live even without a strong face. Communism is still relevant and exists in society not by any popular faces but by the strong principles that it holds."
Senior Journalist Shabbir Ahmed said, "The entry of cinema persons into politics will basically provide hope to a chunk of people. In the case of Vijay, his speech was observed keenly by the apoliticals. They will start to discuss and debate among themselves. They further come to understand why Vijay quoted Periyar, why there are many statues laid across the state, what are his contributions, etc. So politicizing the crowd is the major challenge for Vijay to face. Ideology is not about the face; it reflects the livelihood of people in a particular region. The livelihood of southern states of India doesn't fit with the northern states and vice versa. Even DMK in Tamil Nadu has been forced to reiterate their ideology to tackle the Hindutva forces. Faces act as a catalyst to the ideology."
From the above statements of various personalities, we can conclude that the sustainability of a political party relies on both ideology and a charismatic leader. The leader can enhance the reach to the general public. But without a proper political stand for a public cause, no charismatic face will work out at all. The prominent public figure Mr. Kamal Haasan is a living example.
People vote for good fate, not for good face!