The recent drama played out by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi's family shows that when it comes to his own family Karunanidhi's political wisdom yields place to fatherly love.

Karunanidhi struggled to distribute power among his three children and a grand nephew. Sibling rivalry was the main reason for Karunanidhi's dilemma and the aged leader had to spend long hours with his family members to arrive at a formula acceptable to all.

The problem was how to manage cabinet berths for his two loyalists, T.R. Baalu and A Raja who did not want to be excluded from the cabinet. It was this dilemma which had held up the cabinet formation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the first instance. The DMK demanded four cabinet berths but the Congress was not willing to oblige. An exasperated Singh had to go ahead with his first instalment of cabinet formation without the inclusion of the DMK so that Karunanidhi got enough time to sort out the matter.

Ultimately Karunanidhi had to bow down to the dictates of the Congress riding high after the spectacular victory in the elections. The formula worked out was that his daughter Kanimozhi would stay out and get two berths — one for Raja and the other for Jagatharakshan — as her nominees. T .R. Balu seems to have been left out. The DMK, a disciplined Dravidian party known for its social reforms and Dravidian ideology, is now resigned to the fact that Karunanidhi's family will take over from him. When MDMK leader Vaiko questioned the rise of Karunanidhi's son Stalin at the cost of others, he was shown the door years ago resulting in the formation of MDMK. Today there is no leader of such stature to question the DMK patriarch. The Karunanidhi family drama played out in Delhi and Chennai has brought out the desperation and helplessness of an aged father and the extent to which it hurts political parties.

To be fair to him, you can't blame Karunanidhi alone as his dilemma only reflects the situation typical of Indian politics. There are many other politicians who do not look beyond their families or extended families. Birth in a big political family enables its members to bid for power. A charismatic leader can easily install his son, daughter or wife when he remains influential. The Congress which pioneered dynastic politics, continues to practise it. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru Gandhi family, has even admitted it but he wants to democratise the Congress during his term.

Why do people accept dynastic succession instead of allowing the family to go through the ladder to reach the top? No doubt, they start with an advantage of being known by their parentage and family name which helps them initially even in elections. The exception seems to be the left parties which abhor this kind of family fiefdom. They have so far fielded candidates purely on merit.

Interestingly, this family phenomenon is gradually spreading, creating havoc in some regional outfits. Most regional leaders want to groom their sons, daughters or wives for the simple reason that they do not trust others. This is true of NCP chief Sharad Pawar who is projecting his daughter Supriya or National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, who has anointed his son Omar as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister. Another NCP leader P.A Sangma is pushing his daughter Agata to become a minister. Did not former Prime Minister Deve Gowda pretend to be annoyed first with his son Kumaraswamy for splitting his party to become the chief minister and later joined hands with him? Is there any question about who will succeed SP chief Mulayam Singh or who will take over from RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav or LJP chief Paswan? They all have their political heirs lined up.

Family rivalry has also harmed some parties. Take for instance, the Shiv Sena. The sibling rivalry has created a rift in the Sena to the extent the party has split. And Raj Thackeray who had come out of the party has proved that he could play havoc with the Sena vote bank. It remains to be seen what the future of the Sena will be in post Bal Thackeray era. Late N.T. Rama Rao's family in Andhra Pradesh is yet another example. NTR was reluctant to even name his political heir while he was alive. But his son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu was able to split the party and carry on. The recent elections saw the family rivalry in full play when members of the family campaigned against each other.

The BJP, which claimed to be a party with a difference, is no exception either. BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, Jaswant Singh, Vasundhara Raje, Maneka Gandhi and Yeddyurappa have brought their children into politics.

It is nobody's case that the children of politicians should shun politics. The only thing is that they too should go through the mill to reach the top. Only then will the leaders be able to satisfy their workers who suffer heartburn in being left behind. The DMK drama shows the extent to which regional satraps are willing to compromise. If the trend continues, the future of democracy will come into question soon. (IPA Service)