In Tamil Nadu, where politics and cinema blend easily, the 100th day of an inaugural is a special occasion. Ahead of that milestone in office, first-time chief minister M.K. Stalin is determined to demonstrate that his government is a break with the past five decades of Dravidian rule in the state.

Stalin, 68, is only the third chief minister from the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), after his father M. Karunanidhi and C.N. Annadurai earlier. The seventh-term MLA has rich experience in both politics and administration, having been a minister and deputy chief minister as well as a proactive opposition leader during the regimes of the rival AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam).

With the DMK alliance’s commanding victory in the assembly election in April (159 of 234 seats), Stalin leads a stable government and has the opportunity to reimagine Tamil Nadu’s development, both in vision and scale. “Tamil Nadu should become the most attractive industrial destination in South Asia and provide human capital to the world. There should be no economic or social disparity here,” he said on July 9 while addressing the first virtual meeting of the newly constituted Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (CMEAC). Stalin emphasised that Tamil Nadu was ready for comprehensive and swift change and had the potential to emerge as a model state in the country. Growth, he added, should not be restricted to economic prosperity but should also usher in societal reforms and educational advancement. The members of the CMEAC are Nobel laureate economist Esther Duflo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan; Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Union government; development economist Jean Drèze; and former Union finance secretary S. Narayan.

ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHAUL

Rising above the politics of intense rivalry between the two Dravidian majors, Stalin has declared himself as the chief minister of the entire state, including people who did not vote for the DMK. Unlike his predecessors, who kept political rivals at an arm’s length, he included C. Vijayabaskar, health minister in the previous AIADMK government, in the state’s Covid advisory committee. Recognising merit, he retained Dr J. Radhakrishnan as health secretary while shuffling around some top bureaucrats.

To build a responsive and accountable administration, Stalin brought in select IAS officers on key positions, such as the new chief secretary, V. Irai Anbu, and several officers appointed to the chief minister’s office (CMO). The DMK government is also looking to appoint more IAS recruits as district collectors rather than relying on officers promoted from the state administrative service, who are not only older but considered to be often pliable. “There is a refreshing change in the choice of administrators for key jobs in Tamil Nadu. It’s a good start,” says former civil servant M.G. Devasahayam.

Stalin seems to dislike party propaganda in the garb of social welfare. Political observers point to the distribution of 14 kinds of food/ household products to the state’s 20 million ration card holders on the occasion of Karunanidhi’s 98th birth anniversary on June 3 as a case in point. The packets did not carry photographs of Karunanidhi or Stalin. Under AIADMK rule in the past, doles would invariably carry stickers of party supremo J. Jayalalithaa. While Stalin has shunned such gimmicks—at least for now—sections of DMK workers feel that extending welfare without putting their party’s stamp on it will deny the party some of the political capital it might have earned.

But Stalin believes if his government delivers, electoral dividends will follow. He has repeatedly talked about running a transparent government where ministers and officials not only know their duties but also their rights. This is unlike anything seen in the past 10 years of AIADMK rule. “Emphasising on administrative efficacy over political pragmatism and engaging with public officials and professionals rather than assuming that work will happen are some of the hallmarks of Stalin’s style of functioning,” says Ramu Manivannan, head of the department of politics and public administration, University of Madras. “Stalin is betting on good governance. He wants to be engaged with the bureaucracy rather than be seen as controlling it.”

Stalin has sent a message down the DMK rank and file that nobody should take advantage of the party being in power, interfere with governance at any level or harass the public and political rivals. The bureaucracy has been instructed not to give in to pressure from party leaders. Significantly, a few of Stalin’s ministers handling key portfolios have interacted with the media, unlike the days of Karunanidhi when they would remain tightlipped. Political observers say it indicates greater democracy within not just the government but also the DMK under Stalin. They believe this comes from his stature as the undisputed leader of his party.

In a display of collective responsibility, in the first few weeks of the government, some ministers even took media questions on portfolios they were not in charge of. Foremost among them was the articulate finance minister Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR). He candidly spoke about the state government’s plans to reform the management of temples, with a qualifier that decisions would finally rest with his colleague and minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments, P.K. Sekar Babu. “Stalin’s choice of a technocrat as finance minister, though one rooted in Dravidian ideology, the constitution of CMEAC, and his acknowledgement that Tamil Nadu’s economy was in a mess but he would do what it takes to put it back on track are unprecedented initiatives for any regional or national party to risk,” says political commentator N. Sathiya Moorthy.

WORRYING DEBTS

Stalin’s major challenge will be the Tamil Nadu economy. Hit hard by the pandemic, the state’s debt is expected to be over Rs 5 lakh crore in 2021-22. Its public sector enterprises have a debt burden of around Rs 2 lakh crore. Revenue is growing only through a few departments. The GST regime has deprived the state of the right to levy taxes and, therefore, it needs to strengthen itself by monetising its assets and resources. “Our government’s priority is to fix Tamil Nadu’s financial condition in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing the state’s contribution to the national GDP, from the current 10 per cent to 14-15 per cent, and reducing interest payments of the state,” says PTR. The measures planned include safeguarding MSMEs and improving ease of doing business to attract investors and create jobs.

Stalin has been bold to shed some of the DMK’s agnostic, anti-Brahmin ideology that had commenced with Jayalalithaa, a Brahmin, becoming chief minister in 1991. Three members of the CMEAC are Tamil Brahmins, supposedly anathema for old-school Dravidian ideologues. From day one, Stalin has put religious endowments minister Sekar Babu on the job of visiting the major state government-run temples with the aim of retrieving portions of their vast properties lost to private lessees and sub-lessees over the decades. He has also got the list of properties of these temples uploaded online, apart from announcing various measures for streamlining temple management (see The Great Temple Run).

Dravidian rule, be it by the DMK or AIADMK, has been marked by an unedifying track record of corruption over the decades, so it has been a daunting task for Stalin to begin on a clean slate. “While the choice of bureaucrats for select posts, including in the CMO, suggests that he has picked some individuals with high integrity, the same cannot be said of all his ministers. Some ministers face cases and old complaints in departments commonly identified with corruption, such as municipal administration, highways and public works,” says Jayaram Venkatesan, founder- convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, an anticorruption watchdog in the state. Several cases filed by Arappor Iyakkam against ministers of the previous AIADMK government are pending with the state’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption or are being heard by the courts. The DMK, too, had made allegations against AIADMK ministers during the assembly poll campaign and presented the governor with a ‘corruption list’ of the previous government.

As chief minister, Stalin will be expected to act on these cases that his party had raised. At present, he appears to be accommodative. What will eventually happen may also depend on how others act and react, especially those in the AIADMK, when he allows due process in pursuing corruption charges against former ministers. “Stalin is showing maturity. He can deal with compliments and criticisms with great balance because he has spent long years being on the edge of ascendancy and yet away from the top post,” feels Manivannan.

TUSSLE WITH THE CENTRE

The DMK dispensation’s relations with the Narendra Modi government is going to be another of Stalin’s big challenges. Since he assumed office, the DMK has referred to the central government only as Union government (Ondriya Arasu in Tamil), arguing that it encapsulates the ‘philosophy of federalism’. Analysts say the Stalin government is most likely to build pressure on the Centre on several of Tamil Nadu’s demands. One of them is the call for scrapping the NEET medical entrance exam so that the state can leverage the large number of medical colleges for which infrastructure was built with investments from within Tamil Nadu. NEET, Tamil Nadu argues, deprives MBBS aspirants from the state admission to these colleges.

The coming months may see Stalin getting more vocal about the autonomy of states. In June, he wrote to the chief ministers of most non-BJP ruled states to oppose the draft Indian Ports Bill, 2021, which, critics argue, will divest state governments of powers related to the development and regulation of minor ports. Earlier, he wrote to the CMs to build consensus on demanding a moratorium on loans taken by small businesses.

Stalin has also demanded withdrawal of the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to give the Centre powers to reverse certifications given to films by the censor board. “Stalin is opposed to NEET and GST, in particular, and overall the attitude of the Union government towards states. On the demand for giving more powers to the states, Tamil Nadu’s voice matters. Stalin, therefore, realises his unique role among influential voices in the country,” says Manivannan.

Stalin has begun his chief ministerial innings on a promising note, showing that he has both the intent and ideas to transform governance. His administration has fulfilled some of the poll promises, such as free travel for women in ordinary fare buses across Tamil Nadu and slashing prices of ‘Aavin’ milk supplied by the state-run dairy. To show he walks the talk, Stalin, on his very first day in office (May 7), tasked an IAS officer with redressing public grievances he had received during the poll campaign. But several challenges await him, beginning with an anticipated third wave of Covid. “The Stalin government’s policies and programmes and his governance model will be better known only after the pandemic is behind the state,” says Moorthy. The Tamil Nadu CM will be a keenly watched administrator in the months ahead.