When Karunanidhi failed and where Mulayam passed...

The recent political developments in Uttar Pradesh showcases, in a fantastic manner, precisely the differences between Mulayam Singh Yadav and Karunanidhi. Mulayam won where Karuna lost.

To start with, there are many similarities between Mulayam and Karunanidhi. Both have been very strong regional leaders and have, on many occasions, dictated the terms at the centre. Both fight against women chief ministers who chose to remain single and with whom both of them do not see eye to eye. Both have extended families, occupying primary party positions. Both have always played the minority card (Mulayam – Muslim, Karuna - Dalit) to garner votes.

So where did Karuna lose and Mulayam win?

MK, was always behind power. He could not control himself from relinquishing the chief ministership. He has been at the helm from 1967 and recently lost the election to his arch nemesis Jayalalitha. The way he became the chief minister, after Anna’s death and the steps that he took to thwart MGR’s plans are part of folklore. It is precisely in this move that Karuna failed. Now, he has his 2 sons who can’t stand each other, his daughter, his grand-nieces and his grand –daughters and grandsons who have become power-centers inside the party. Had he made Stalin (his son who is seen as heir-apparent) the chief minister when DMK came to power the last time, things would have been definitely different. The ugly family politics, that has now come to be associated with MK’s family, would not have come out in the open. Now, with reformed Jayalalitha (that is what everyone believes after the ouster of Sasikala) in power, and another four years to go, and with MK’s health condition, it is not sure if he could contest the next election. Only until MK is active, will DMK remain a force to reckon with. Even if MK is active and DMK wins the next election, the party would not fade into oblivion, only if MK relinquishes his dearest chief ministership and appoints someone as CM. Only such an act would send a strong message to the existing power centers in the party.

Mulayam,on the other hand, was shrewd, to make his son the chief minister, when his party won fabulously. He had a tough job, in convincing his brother and other senior leaders, but, he made sure the power remained inside his house. When looking at the cabinet closely, it can be easily ascertained that while Akhilesh is the CM, the cabinet is full of Mulayam loyals, right from Azam Khan to Raja Bhaiyya. It’s a win-win situation for Mulayam, where he has retained power as well as made his son CM ahead of his brother and other party seniors. If he had not done that, Mulayam would have become another Karuna.

Its another sad note that politics is a family business. You can read that here.

Pairs

Rahul Dravid announced his retirement last friday and as expected tributes started to pour in from all corners of the globe. As echoed by most of the people, test cricket is not the same anymore, at least to me. I have followed Dravid's career,right from the time he made his debut, to his first test century against South Africa to his last series in Australia. To put that in a single sentence, I've grown with Dravid.

All the posts,while showering him encomiums, mentioned he was an unsung hero, over-shadowed by Sachin's exploits. Reading this makes it hard for me not to ignore the comparison that pops up in my mind.

Rahul Dravid --> Sachin Tendulkar and G.R. Viswanath --> Sunil Gavaskar

The similarities are many. To start with,the former in both the cases were from Bangalore while the latter were from Bombay. Sunil and Sachin were/are always superstars in their playing days. For a cricket and cricket-statistics obsessed nation as ours, Sachin and Sunil, represented the best of India to the world. They were world record holders for their centuries and runs scored and we remember them more for their records than for their game. This is in total contrast with what we associate with Vishy or Dravid. They were always the unsung heroes, more in the 'firefighter' mould, saving the team most of the time from the blushes. We remember them not for their records, but for their game.

The whole world waits in bated breath for Sachin's hundredth hundred. The whole world wrote about Sachin and his deeds, on his reaching the 10,000th run. But for Dravid, there was a line about him reaching the 10,000 run landmark. Press and the media spoke of Sehwag's runs when Dravid scored his 10,000th run. Considered by many as Dravid's best, his score of 180 against Australia in Kolkata, is remembered more for Laxman's heroics and the series for Harbhajan's wickets.

Similarly, we only know of the 34 centuries, Sunil Gavaskar scored. When asked about Vishy, what comes to mind is his game against West Indies in Chennai. His fighting knock,against the best bowling attack in that time is all we remember.

Also,we know more tales from childhood of these superstars than that of our unsung heroes. We know,how Gavaskar was saved by his uncle from being swapped when he was born or how he broke his mother's nose. We know what Sachin did in school with Kambli or the way he played his cricket near his locality. But we know nothing about Dravid's or Vishy's childhood cricketing exploits. They were,of course,overshadowed by the superstars in their own team.

The similarities may not cease here, but they would always continue to surprise me and would make me wait for the next such pair to arrive. After all, history repeats itself.