‘It’s a battle for democracy. But, we have a strong team… Akhilesh, Kejriwal, Uddhav… a dynamic young leader like Rahul’: M K Stalin

With a photo of his father, the late DMK stalwart and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, looking over his shoulder at his Chhitaranjan Salai residence here, CM M K Stalin exudes confidence ahead of, what he calls, “a second struggle for Independence” in the coming elections.

Having settled any doubts about whether he would be able to fill Karunanidhi’s shoes, by leading the DMK to a Lok Sabha poll sweep in 2019 and astate Assembly election win in 2021, the 74-year-old is now the face of the INDIA bloc’s hopes in Tamil Nadu.

Stalin is well-aware of that, and in an interview with The Indian Express, reinforces his anti-BJP stance as that against the Centre’s “hegemony”. As to whether he can be described as “a man of patience”, given his long wait to inherit his father’s legacy, Stalin says: “I take it with a smile.” Excerpts:

It feels like we are in the midst of a second struggle for Independence. It’s all about defending the core of India: democracy, secularism and our pluralistic society, not to mention the principle of federalism. The DMK, along with our allies in the INDIA bloc, we are in this democratic fight to save the nation from what I would frankly call fascist forces.

When I was leading the youth wing of the DMK, I used to tell my party colleagues: ‘Accomplish, or die trying’. And there is no question in my mind that we are going to accomplish what we have set out to do. This election isn’t just a critical juncture for us; it’s a do or die battle for Indian democracy itself. But, we have got a strong team. Leaders like Akhilesh Yadav, (Arvind) Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, they are all in it with us. We are united in this fight, recognising the gravity of the moment.

We were forced to do it. When Tamil Nadu was