Only a few Chief Ministers have created the kind of expectation that Tamil Nadu’s M.K. Stalin has done. The way he conducted himself during the Assembly election campaign last year and the promises he made indicated a Chief Minister in the making. However, the election victory in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 had placed him in an unenviable position.
When he took oath of office on May 7, 2021, the challenges were too many: the State coffer was empty; the medical infrastructure was inadequate to handle the pandemic and he had to deal with a government at the Centre, led by the BJP, with a diametrically opposite political view.
A year on, the ruling DMK’s allies are full of praise for him, saying he has acted in a mature manner and handled the challenges well.
