Kamal Ghorui
Dear Chief Minister, I’ve been waiting to write this letter since May 4, when TVK emerged as the single largest party in the assembly election. The political intrigue that followed delayed this letter. Finally, when I sat down to write after watching your swearing-in ceremony, you delivered a speech that answered so many of my questions that I was left with little to write. Since I have started this letter, however, let me complete it.
I didn’t expect you to be the chief minister till 2031. In a way, I am happy that I was wrong: you bring a breath of fresh air to the corridors of power; you speak the commoner’s language; you sound earnest in your promises. Eradicating corruption in five years may be unrealistic. But you have shown the courage to place clean governance at the top of your agenda (so was it on TOI’s crowdsourced priority list through our campaign ‘thINK’) and warning your party colleagues against nursing any dream of corruption. Your war cry against drugs, and crimes against women, too, deserves praise.
Five days of turbulence before your swearing-in may well prove to be a teaser; brace for five years of backstabbing and frontal attacks. You did the right thing by waiting – so perilously, it seemed – and getting only those parties which are secular and ideologically aligned to you to support your govt. Yet, remember you are on thin ice. Passing bills that unsettle sections of your supporters won’t be easy. Consensus is necessary, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of clarity and direction.
Besides the big barricades the opposition benches may put up, challenges could come from within your ranks. Your warning to those who think “oru aattam aadi pakkalaam” was timely. Power has a way of fostering arrogance. The very cadres and local functionaries who celebrated your rise with firecrackers and fanfare could become your greatest liability if they misuse your name for intimidation, land-grabbing, extortion or settling personal scores. Tamil Nadu has seen this cycle too many times across parties. The moment ordinary citizens begin to fear the ruling party’s men instead of trusting them, the moral authority of a govt starts eroding. Your warning against corruption must therefore extend beyond ministers and MLAs to every district secretary, ward-level functionary and overenthusiastic supporter who thinks electoral victory is a licence for arrogance.
Equally, a word to your ‘virtual warriors’, the young social media army that helped shape the political narrative around TVK and converted fandom into votes. Their energy and creativity deserve acknowledgement; they fought a relentless online battle when mainstream politics dismissed your chances. But victory brings responsibility. The temptation now will be to troll critics, spread unverified claims, manufacture outrage and treat every disagreement as betrayal. That would only diminish the political culture you promised to change. A movement that rode to power on hope and positivity cannot afford to become an ecosystem o f abuse and misinformation. Your supporters online must learn that dignity in victory is as important as resilience in defeat.
Two Dravidian parties had been alternating in power in Tamil Nadu, and there have been instances of a new govt reversing decisions of the previous regime, including the location of the govt secretariat. Yet, continuance of major policies of social welfare and industrialisation have kept the state in good stead. Renaming schemes is your prerogative, but changes of policy and practice should be for common good, not political reasons. Tamil Nadu has not elected a hero for a climax scene; it has elected a govt for the difficult middle portions.
TOI will back all your good ventures. And, as our profession demands, we will remain the citizen’s watchdog. We wish you the best.
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