Capturing the political acumen of DMK men in a short story

Explore Nanjil Nadan's "Vaaku Porukkikal," highlighting DMK leaders' connection to the people leading to their 1967 victory.

The emergence of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, and its victory in 1967 — sweeping aside Congress leaders, including K. Kamaraj and Chief Minister M. Bhaktavatsalam — can be understood through what the Italian communist leader Antonio Gramsci described as “organic intellectuals”.

Vaaku Porukkikal (Vote Scavengers), despite its rather harsh title, is a short story by Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer Nanjil Nadan that explores how the then DMK leaders and candidates remained rooted in ground realities and represented the aspirations of the people. The story was published in Kanaiyazhi in 1981.

In the story, the contest is among three candidates. Ayyappan Pillai, son of a Congress man, Adhimoolam Pillai, is traditionally wealthy, owning acres of land, coconut groves, and other agricultural assets, and wears only khadi.

Parameswaran, a development economist, has worked as an economic adviser to a couple of African countries. His advantage lies in having two wives — one from his own community and the other from a Scheduled Caste community — who campaign for him in places where their presence is considered effective.

Kulasai Arivarasan, as the name suggests, is the DMK candidate, “a worker committed to his leader, who dedicated his life to Tamil and his body to the soil”. A former handloom worker, he has already spent two months in jail for a protest against price rise, and two weeks during the anti-Hindi imposition agitation. He missed earning the moniker, ‘MISA Arivarasan’, as he developed “heart problems” out of fear during the Emergency.

Adhimoolam Pillai does not enjoy goodwill even among his own community, and would not allow anyone to take a ride in his Ambassador car, even when he is travelling alone. However, during the election, his car carries relatives and friends — a person returning from the market with gunny bags of goods, a farmer returning from the field, and a mother returning from hospital after treatment for her child.