To understand the ongoing power struggle in the AIADMK, it would be instructive to rewind to the sibling rivalry that played out in the DMK for years. Current DMK working president M K Stalin took over a decade to remove the painful thorn his brother M K Alagiri had become in his ascension to the party’s apex.
In the AIADMK, jailed general secretary V K Sasikala’s brother Dhivakaran claimed the party is where his loving sister is. Reminds you of Congress leader Dev Kant Barooah whose only claim to fame was a one-liner, ‘India is Indira and Indira is India,’ extolling the then prime minister Indira Gandhi during the Emergency days.
Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran whom she appointed deputy general secretary on the day she went to jail to keep the seat warm on her return after four years at Parapana Agrahara, too, is fighting to safeguard her legacy. The ruling group, however, has ejected him from his party position.
Within the government that was strengthened by the merger of the rebel O Panneerselvam group, there is a dominant feeling that the clan is sin. If possible, they would take a figurative dip in the upcoming Cauvery Pushkarams to wash it away.
Purging the clan is easier said than done, as Dhinakaran has marshalled legislators loyal to him and parked them in Congress-ruled Puducherry. His bunch of MLAs have revolted against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and conveyed that to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao in writing.
Just like the Sasikala-is-AIADMK line of the clan, years ago Alagiri used to put down Stalin saying he recognised no one other than dad Kalaignar M Karunanidhi as the DMK leader. Alagiri was the lone reason Stalin was not elevated to the chief minister’s position after the party formed the government in 2006.
The crafty Karunanidhi used the wedge to comfortably occupy the seat of power that year and completed his five-year tenure leading a minority government. Even in the run up to the 2016 Assembly elections, when Alagari had been largely defanged, the wheelchair-bound Karunanidhi insisted he would be chief minister if the DMK was voted to power. “If he (Stalin) has to get a chance, nature has to do something to me,” he had quipped in May that year. In the end Stalin became the de-facto DMK president only after his dad underwent a tracheostomy (hole in the throat) procedure that still prevents him from speaking.
Dhinakaran said, “What is going on in the AIADMK today is a war between sacrifice and betrayal.” Defending the large-scale reshuffle he is effecting in the party leadership, he claimed: “I will do anything to protect the party with the approval of Sasikala.” Would he have let his aunt have any say had he won the countermanded RK Nagar by-election and become the chief minister is anybody’s guess.
Such is the nature of politics that Dhivakaran was almost certain to be the AIADMK deputy general secretary but Dhinakaran squeaked through. The sulking Dhivakaran was till a few weeks ago working on a patch up between the two Ps — Palaniswami and Panneerselvam — but then joined the other side. Politics in Tamil Nadu would have been completely different had the seasoned power player Dhivakaran been at the party’s helm.
Alagiri during his heyday had set the benchmark of `5,000 per voter to win a by-election in Thirumangalam and was rewarded with the south zone organising secretary position of the party. Dhinakaran bettered the benchmark in RK Nagar to swing the verdict but the Election Commission got too nosey and nixed the bypoll.
Stalin could not wish away Alagiri because he had pockets of influence in Madurai, Pudukottai, Ramnad, Tirunelveli and Thanjavur, where the clan holds sway. Those and a few other districts are where the Mukkulathor are numerically dominant. Otherwise called the Thevars, the Mukkulathor signify the unity of three clans — Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar. Sasikala is seen as a Thevar icon, which is why the clan has so much clout in the AIADMK. Alagiri used riffraff to terrorise people into subjugation; the clan, too, is not alien to muscle power.
Stalin took a long time purging the party of Alagiri’s influence. He went about systematically cleaning up the southern units from the grassroots level right up to the districts by appointing his loyalists, some of whom had defected from his brother’s side. The Sasikala factor too cannot be squashed easily. Even for argument’s sake if she is expelled from the party and the government survives, the clan has enough and more money to field rebels against official candidates in the forthcoming local body elections, making the outcome a lot messy.
For its own sake, the ruling party leadership should perhaps hasten slowly in dealing with Sasikala while quickly getting the official Two Leaves symbol defrozen and energise the cadre.
As for the clan, they stumbled onto a leader in EPS who is surprisingly mature, which makes them insecure. By seeking his ouster, they seem to be okay with harming the party and the government while making the road smoother for the enemy number 1, the DMK, which is curiously shy of going for the kill by not submitting a no-confidence notice. EPS has shown great political timing by exploiting the mistakes Dhinakaran is prone to commit. He is patiently waiting for one more misstep. The game is still open.
Suresh Sundaram
Deputy Resident Editor, Tamil Nadu
Email: ssuresh@newindianexpress.com