Mr Stalin's managers believe in his new avatar he will find more resonance with young voters.
DMK leader MK Stalin has ditched the dhoti for trousers, T shirt and sneakers. The makeover is part of an effort to connect with the 80 lakh first-timer voters who will join Tamil Nadu's electorate ahead of next year's assembly elections.
Mr Stalin's managers believe the 62-year-old politician looks younger in his new avatar and that it will find more resonance with young voters.
As he whizzes across the state with a target of meeting one crore voters, the former Deputy Chief Minister says he is in sync with what young Tamil Nadu wants. "Youngsters clearly want a transparent, scam free and commission free administration. I'm able to clearly understand their feelings," he said.
To strike a chord with voters, he has cycled, ridden a motorbike and even travelled in an auto rickshaw.
Experts are divided on the impact of the makeover. "MK Stalin's strategy is to woo youngsters addressing hard issues that matter to these young voters. If it is propagated well it will definitely work," said BS Raj Narain, CEO, Optima Response, which is a brand building expert.
Gnani Sankaran, a political commentator said, "It remains to be seen how this would work. However, with his father unable to do a state-wide campaign the burden is on Stalin and that's why he has started early."
The DMK is now completely run by Mr Stalin, the younger son and political heir of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. His older brother MK Alagiri has been expelled from the party and his father is too old at 92 to lead the election campaign with the energy it needs to take on arch-rival J Jayalalithaa, 66, who will seek a second straight term as Chief Minister.
The party's younger workers want Mr Stalin to be projected as chief minister, but Mr Karunanidhi, a five-time CM, is said to be reluctant to hand over that mantle just yet. Mr Stalin, say sources, hopes for a change of heart in the next few months.
For now he stoutly insists that it is his father who will be projected for Chief Minister by the DMK.