In politics, symbolism is everything. That is why All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary V K Sasikala tried to mirror her mentor J Jayalalithaa in every possible way, from adopting her dress sense to taking the few paces to the Poes Garden balcony, raising two fingers in a slow arc and waving at an indulgent crowd. And all party leaders carry Jayalalithaa’s photo in their shirt pocket to indicate loyalty to Amma.
The latest act of symbolism came in the form of a no-show from Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and his ministerial team when Sasikala’s smooth-talking nephew TTV Dhinakaran landed in Chennai from Delhi. Dhinakaran arrived to a tumultuous welcome after over 40 days in Tihar jail for allegedly trying to bribe Election Commission of India officials to get the right to use the party’s Two Leaves symbol.
Palaniswami’s absence indicated he has crossed the tentative phase when he was first installed as chief minister after Sasikala’s arrest and under the watch of the newly minted deputy general secretary Dhinakaran. Sasikala had pulled Dhinakaran out of a Jaya-imposed exile to somehow keep the ‘heirloom’ of the party’s reins within the family. Dhinakaran was expected to do a holding operation but he appeared to be a man in a hurry, a man whose interest went beyond wielding the remote control. That was why he tried to get himself elected from the prestigious RK Nagar constituency. The election was countermanded after widespread attempts to influence the voting outcome.
By staying away, the chief minister conveyed a clear message that he did not want to be seen in public on Dhinakaran’s side at a time when nascent merger talks with the rebel O Panneerselvam (OPS) group are hinged on the ruling side’s links with Sasikala’s family. Palaniswami’s presence at the airport would have given grist to the sections on both sides that are trying to sabotage unity efforts. No wonder, the deputy general secretary poured out his frustration by sneering at the proposed merger.
But Dhinakaran on the loose is like a ticking bomb for a government with a thin majority. The bomb has to be isolated, sandbagged and defused without causing material damage. To do that, Palaniswami has to manage the sulking leader by keeping him at a safe distance while not completely shutting him out of the matrix, which could provoke him to hit the self-destruct button. It is such situations that make politics the art of the possible.
Despite the tight space, Palaniswami found enough room to manoeuvre and show he is leading a functional government and the party. He sought to address the current drought by invoking a centuries-old participatory water management scheme called the Kudimaramathu. To encourage farmers to clean up water bodies, he allowed them to cart away the silt for free. That prodded them to become willing participants in the exercise. He also inaugurated the first-ever desilting of the Mettur Dam since it was constructed in 1934. By doing so, he invested in the future, as water bodies in the State will have much more storage capacity than they had for ages.
From defusing the farmers’ agitation at Jantar Mantar to building bridges with the Modi government and taking the sting out of the hydrocarbon project agitation in the Cauvery basin, Palaniswami does appear sure-footed. He draws strength from his Gounder community, which is well represented in the Assembly. From being the acceptable face of the Gounders in the government to that of the entire party is what he is now working on. All his efforts at staying visible and interactions with the locals whenever he is on a visit away from Chennai point towards it.
Leading a government that has at least three factions while working on a merger with the rebel OPS group is not easy. The party’s unity will be tested next month when it faces the local body elections. Commonsense suggests that they quickly find a formula for equitable sharing of power where the two big Ps — Panneerselvam and Palaniswami — work together instead of working at cross-purposes.
At present, the entire party appears united on one thing: delivering all votes in favour of the Modi government in the Presidential elections. They need to do better than that to get the freeze on the Two Leaves symbol lifted.
There is no denying that OPS has support at the grassroots while Palaniswami has grip over the government by virtue of having the biggest block of legislators backing him. For the larger interests of the party, both factions ought to find a middle ground. The sooner it happens, the better.
Suresh Sundaram
Deputy Resident Editor, Tamil Nadu
Email: ssuresh@newindianexpress.com