Her footprint can be noticed across Tamil Nadu, but 4 years right after Jayalalithaa’s demise, the one location exactly where it seems missing is her personal party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Though there is no dearth of Amma’s photographs on the party’s hoardings, letter pads, flags and her name may possibly echo in each speech by AIADMK leaders, the party with the ‘two leaves’ symbol is losing her wealthy legacy, and promptly so. While the passing away of DMK chief M Karunanidhi would have ensured a level playing field for each parties, internal variations inside the AIADMK and a lack of robust leadership have ensured that is not the case.
A party and a leader that was when viewed as a heavyweight in national politics is not only lowered to playing second fiddle, it is set to reflect in the poll outcome come May 2. As per opinion polls, the Congress-DMK alliance beneath MK Stalin is set to return to energy right after 10 years by defeating the ruling AIADMK. The UPA is predicted to get 158 seats whilst the NDA, of which AIADMK is the biggest constituent, is slated to win just 65. In the final election, the AIADMK beneath then chief minister Jayalalitha had contested the polls alone and won 136 of 234 seats.
So, is the AIADMK’s slide down a slippery slope definitely surprising? Not definitely if you look at the series of developments more than the previous year or so. In reality, the rumblings inside the party started quickly right after the well-known Chief Minister’s demise. Sample this. Within months, Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala was sent to jail in an asset case and she handed more than the party reign to Edappadi K Palaniswami. The incumbent CM later resolved variations with rebel O Panneerselvam and sealed a energy-sharing deal as OPS was provided the deputy CM post. However, the two warring factions — every headed by the CM and his deputy — have been basically far from resolving their variations.
And the war played out in complete public view significantly less than a year prior to the polls. Be it OPS’ demand of an 11-member steering committee to oversee the party affairs or the basic secretary post for himself, the two sides have been usually at loggerheads with every other. Add to that the battle in between the Thevar and Gounder communities (each listed as OBC) for dominance inside the party, and you see a party practically heading to a vertical split. EPS is a Gounder which is noticed as getting the upper hand in the present regime, a shift from Jayalalithaa’s rule when Thevars known as the shots. For context, Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala is a Thevar.
While the AIADMK is hoping to win the electoral battle by invoking Amma’s legacy and setting up a memorial, they have failed to retain the party united as Jayalalithaa did for years. The AIADMK beneath Jayalalithaa’s regime was united and an iron hand ensured that petty political ambitions of men and women have been by no means permitted to influence the party. Things, nevertheless, went downhill quickly right after EPS and OPS took more than the AIADMK, it was more about men and women than party and governance.
Ever because the AIADMK allied with the BJP, which could not occur through Jayalalithaa’s tenure, the ruling party has been facing criticism for surrendering itself to the saffron party. Jayalalithaa by no means compromised with projects which she viewed as detrimental to Tamil Nadu. She had kept national parties waiting at her door. There is a view that the predicament is fairly the opposite now.
Today’s AIADMK is no more the party with military-like strict discipline and it struggles with factionalism. The compulsion of maintaining the government alive is probably the only aspect that has kept them from falling apart so far. With Sasikala opting out of the political race and TTV Dhinakaran floating his separate party, the road ahead is not effortless for EPS and OPS.
Though the AIADMK has managed to retain the BJP restricted to just 20 seats in this election, this will give adequate ammunition to opposition DMK and Congress to target the ruling party. The outcome was evident through the 2019 Lok Sabha election which saw AIADMK’s collapse with DMK and Congress winning 31 seats out of 39. The AIADMK beneath the present leadership lacks the magic and charm possessed by then CM J Jayalalithaa.