Over the past several years, virtually all political parties have consciously promoted a next generation of leadership in the belief that they are better placed to reach out to the country’s growing young population.

As a result, veteran party leader LK Advani had to make way for the younger Narendra Modi in the Bharatiya Janata Party while Rahul Gandhi is waiting to take over from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) saw the emergence of Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury to the party’s top posts, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah stepped down in favour of his son Omar Abdullah and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav did the same in Uttar Pradesh by handing over the mantle to son Akhilesh Singh Yadav.

The Shiv Sena and People’s Democratic Party also have younger leaders at the helm and in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav is busy grooming his two sons for a larger political role.

These changes were pushed through partly because of circumstances but largely because there was a growing view in the political class that they needed to project youth icons with an eye on two-thirds of India's population, which is below the age of 35 years.

The exceptions

But the latest assembly elections have clearly proved these arguments wrong. Both in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, younger leaders were beaten in the game by two aging patriarchs – M Karunanidhi and VS Achuthanandan – who were the lead campaigners for their parties and are the front-runners for the chief minister’s post in their respective states.

The wheelchair-bound 91-year-old Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Karunandihi was the party’s star campaigner, drawing huge crowds at his election meetings. Frenzied mobs, comprising a large number of youngsters, greeted him with shouts of “Kalaignar, Kalaignar” each time he stepped on to the podium, indicating that age has not diminished his popularity with the youth.

People revere Karunanidhi for his connection with the poor and marginalised sections, his able administration and how he transformed the state during his tenures as chief minister. But more than that, they admire him for his witty oratory and his vast body of plays, stories, poems and film scripts, which lend a fresh dimension to his personality.

Tireless campaigner

It was widely believed that the five-time Tamil Nadu chief minister and the longest-serving politician in the state – he won his first election in 1957 – would have to step down and hand over the baton to his successor because of his age.

But Karunanidhi remained undeterred despite his frail health, the DMK’s rout in the last assembly election and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as well as the corruption charges against his family members and party leaders. His supporters reject the charge that Karunanidhi will not be able to administer the state given his age and health, pointing out that his mind is still razor sharp.

Although he has named his son MK Stalin as his successor, the DMK chief is not ready for retirement yet. “If I win, I will be the chief minister for the sixth time,” Karunanidhi said in an interview before the elections. “Stalin can become chief minister only if nature does something to me.”

If Karunanidhi drew enthusiastic crowds to his election rallies in Tamil Nadu, 92-year-old CPM leader and former chief minister of Kerala VS Achuthanandan or VS as he is popularly called, was doing the same in the neighbouring state. The senior leader kept a punishing schedule during the long campaign, clocking nearly 200 km daily on the road and addressing four to five election rallies every day.

The composition of the crowds – men and women, young and old – which gathered to listen to his speeches was a testimony to his stature and his enduring popularity. Like Karunanidhi, VS was also welcomed enthusiastically at the public meetings, his arrival greeted with cries of : “Kanne, Karale VSee, Dheerathayode Nayicholoo” (Our eyes, our heart, VS lead us from the front).

Clean image

The senior leader is heard with rapt attention as he connects effortlessly with the people. VS is especially liked for his direct style of communication as he packs quite a punch while ruthlessly demolishing his political opponents. The poor are particularly enamoured of VS because they believe he takes up their causes and speaks up for them. More importantly, they are convinced VS is not corrupt.

While his popularity can hardly be denied, VS has periodically hit the headlines because of his running battle with his party colleague and bête noire Pinarayi Vijayan, who has periodically vowed vengeance against him. Nevertheless, even Vijayan was forced to call truce with his arch rival before the elections because he realised that the aging leader remains the party’s chief crowd puller.

Though there is no denying that the party could not afford to ignore VS in the run-up to the assembly polls, it is not clear if the internal factional warfare and his age will allow him to become chief minister in case the LDF comes to power. The question is: Will the CPM’s aging poster-boy succeed in outmanoeuvring his party rivals with the same ease that he charms his audience?