Udhayanidhi transforms DMK youth wing into party’s nerve centre

CHENNAI: Considered a mere appendage of the parent party by its own cadre once, the DMK youth wing headed by Chepauk-Triplicane MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin has come afar since 2019. As the influential secretary completed three years at Anbagam (the command centre of the youth wing) last week, a quick reading of the youth wing’s trajectory would show that it has quite a bit to brag about.

From being a showpiece unit at party conclaves, the youth wing has gone on to popularising Dravidian principles, educating youths and enrolling members. Needless to say, the youth wing has also become a launchpad for those yearning for a quick political catapult.

One of the key missions of Stalin junior, at least according to his lieutenants, has been wooing the disenchanted young minds from the hardline Tamil nationalist den to Anna Arivalayam. It would be safe to say that Udhay has had significant success in the mission.

Former NTK (Naam Tamilar Katchi) functionary and current joint secretary of DMK media wing Rajiv Gandhi claimed that at least 10,000 youngsters have been roped in during Udhay’s stint. “At least 10,000 politically active youths from NTK and alike have joined DMK after I did. I do not claim that I brought them. When he (Udhay) took over, there was some criticism that the Dravidian movement had lost steam and the youths were digressing towards so-called Tamil nationalists. Misconceptions among the youths about the Dravidian movement were cleared. The youth who fell for fallacies earlier were given hope,” Rajiv Gandhi said.

“He took it up as a mission to educate the youths about the Dravidian movement, Dravidian model of governance. He made the youth wing unit campaign against Sanathana Dharma and Varnashrama and took the core party ideology to the grassroots,” Rajiv added. The efforts were sustained in different ways. First, Dravidian movement workshops were oragnised. The new look DMK youth wing did not mind making a few compromises either. It had widened its association with Dravidian groups beyond the Dravidar Kazhagam led by K Veeramani.

Stalin junior had roped in Suba Vee and a few other Periyarists to popularise the Dravidian ideology. The Dravidian Friends Forum recently launched by the youth wing with the support of Suba Veerapandian to even lure the ‘believers’ has been a significant step forward in countering the spiritual politics of the BJP.

Another state level DMK youth wing functionary seeking anonymity added that the youths in the traditional DMK families were slowly drifting away from the party in the last decade and a half, more so since the emergence of a new breed of hardline Tamil nationalists. Udhay’s biggest success was reaching out to the DMK families, let alone roping them in successfully. The youth wing identified and networked with the loyalists. The outcome was felt in the membership drive started after the guard change in Anbagam. “He set a target of 24 lakh new youth wing members in 2019. The number was achieved. A little less than four lakh were found to be double entries,” the youth wing functionary admitted. The remaining 20 lakh members are genuine.

The Chepauk MLA got a team of two dozen office-bearers at Anbagam to personally confirm the veracity of each membership over phone. “Calls were made to the members signed up by the district units. The identity of each member was personally verified. Hence, the identification of the double entries. The verification was done discreetly without engaging usual functionaries,” he added.

The combined effort of the ideological campaign and membership drive was complemented by seat allocation. Yes. A good number of youth wing products were absorbed as district secretaries or MPs or MLAs or even a couple of Ministers in the Cabinet. Udhayanidhi’s imprint could be felt in the appointment of a district secretary in Chennai, Namakkal and nomination of KRN Rajesh Kumar to Rajya Sabha for the second time recently.

“A new category of claimants have started popping up of late. It is called the youth wing or Udhayanidhi quota. Representation of the youth wing in MLA ticket, MP nomination and even election of zonal corporation chairman and district secretaries has become inevitable in the DMK now. The representation is fulfilling the aspirations of the youth coming to the party. But, it is also an irritant to the seniors at times. Now, we have to satisfy the youth wing to avoid incurring the wrath of the high command,” a DMK senior remarked.