EPS in a mess

The AIADMK still has a substantial voter base, but without ideological clarity, its ability to convert this support into seats remains doubtful

- BY LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

On March 23, Edappadi K. Palaniswami walked into his party headquarters in Chennai for a show of strength. His NDA partners, including Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Anbumani Ramadoss, state BJP president Nainar Nagendran and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, were by his side for a joint press conference, where they announced the seat allocation for the assembly elections.

But it was only a “show” of strength. The projection was that Palaniswami, head of the AIADMK, had been generous—he had given 27 seats to the BJP, 18 to the PMK and 11 to the AMMK—and was confident of taking on Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin. However, those who watched him closely saw that Palaniswami was fighting his friends within the alliance and trying to stamp his authority. Within the AIADMK, he wants to convey the message that he is the only leader of the party.

The AIADMK has always been unipolar. It revolved around M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) in its early days and then J. Jayalalithaa after his death in 1987. She led the party to victory in the 2001, 2011 and 2016 state elections. However, since her death in 2016, no one leader has been able to carry that torch.

The party has been steadily losing vote share, which is attributed mostly to factional feuds and defections. “I call him pathu tholvi (10-time loser) Palaniswami. The AIADMK has lost every election under his leadership,” former chief minister O. Panneerselvam, who recently moved to the DMK, told THE WEEK. He himself was once the face of the AIADMK after Jayalalithaa.