AIADMK, BJP and the puppet show in Tamil Nadu politics
Edappadi Palaniswami is unfazed by all moves of the BJP in the last few years.
There are subtle indications of the moves and shifts taking place within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu with the exit of TTK Dinakaran and his party Amma Munnetra Makkal Kazhagam (AMMK) from the NDA alliance. This may appear at the outset as an ordinary and non-consequential move but TTK Dinakran’s close ties with VK Sasikala, an erstwhile confident of Jayalalitha and potential collaboration with O.Pannerselvam assumes significance with all their strings grouped under the tight grip of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP). The BJP wants to float TTK Dinakaran and O.Pannerselvam to test the waters and explore the ties with the actor Vijay and his fan club converted political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
Edappadi Palaniswami is both unfazed by all moves of the BJP in the last few years. Senior AIADMK leaders like Anwar Raja and Maitreyan defecting to the DMK along with veiled threats issued by Sengottaiyan in the last few months has not deterred Edappadi Palanisamy from standing up to the BJP’s game plan of complete takeover and subordination of the AIADMK with O.Pannerselvam waiting in the wings to complete the rest. Sengottaiyan has recently been advocating that only by contesting as a united force that DMK can be defeated. He has been stressing the need for reconciliation and wants O.Panneerselvam, TTV Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala back into the party fold. It is needless to mention that Sengottaiyan has been in communication with the BJP leadership in Delhi in the last several months. The real threat that BJP organized against Edappadi Palaniswami is to launch another influential leader Sengotiyan from his own party and the same western region. EPS also maintained that he would not compromise and invite his enemies from his own party like Sasikala, TTD Dinakaran and O.Paneerselvam. BJP tactically kept them out and may bring them into the alliance through another door before the elections.
The issuance of a 10-day deadline notice for EPS to reinstate those removed from the party was the last straw over the tug-of-war between him and Sengottaiyan since the beginning of this year. Palaniswami responded by removing Sengottaiyan from all his party postings including those of his supporters even before the deadline came to an end. Thus EPS has prevented the BJP from doing what it did to the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Other senior leaders like Saidai Duraisamy have also been calling for a united AIADMK to take on the DMK in the 2026 assembly elections.
The meaning of united AIADMK implies reconciliation with O.Pannerselvam, VK Sasikala and TTK Dhinakaran. There is an argument that EPS is unwilling to compromise with O.Pannerselvan and VK Sasikala unlike MGR and Jayalalitha who occasionally accommodated bitter critics and dissent within the party for pragmatic electoral reasons. There is a difference between the charismatic influence of MGR and Palaniswami or the gap in the realm of authority wielded by Jayalalitha and Palaniswami. He understands his own limitations and the vulnerabilities of his own party leaders. It would be a political suicide for him to walk into the trap of BJP by opening the doors for O.Pannerselvam and VK Sasikala who are already under the care and comfort zone of the BJP. Palaniswami is also deeply aware of the political and ideological isolation of BJP in Tamil Nadu politics. He is certain that he will lose his preeminence within the AIADMK to O.Pannerselvam and VK Sasikala and subsequently the party will have to make way for BJP to climb in power. EPS understands this political plot and power ploy at the behest of BJP in the name of united fight against the DMK. Though it may appear as a double edged sword for him in terms of being underprepared to offer a stronger resistance against the DMK, he is prepared to wait and weaken the threat from within and from the enemy posing as an ally.
BJP is both confused and bewildered by the resistance shown by him because of the mixed signals passing through its own party leaders and cadres across the state. There are larger concerns about the course, strategy and the alliances to be formed before the assembly elections 2026. The BJP is in a critical dilemma that it can neither consolidate its present ties nor abandon the alliance with the AIADMK. The only option is to keep shuffling its limited options of rotating heads and playing musical chairs in order to weaken EPS and break down the resistance held by him over the AIADMK forte by all means. It now wants to dissipate its own NDA allies like TTK Dinakaran and O.Paneerselvam with VK Sasikala in shadow as emissaries to explore other avenues and parties to climb the ladder of relevance in Tamil Nadu politics. Men may come and men may go but the puppet show shall go on forever in politics.
Prof.Ramu Manivannan is a Professor and Former Head of the Department of Politics & Public Administration, University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is currently the Director, Multiversity – Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Kurumbapalayam Village, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu.
