COIMBATORE: None in Salem, particularly in Edappadi town, would have imagined that a man who had lost a panchayat presidential election (Nadukulam) in 1987 would go on to become the State's chief minister and one of the strongest leaders of Dravidian major AIADMK in three decades. Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) hos now been elected the interim general secretary of AIADMK, the all-powerful party post that has been dormant since J Jayalalithaa's death in 2016.
Born in Siluvampalayam, a sleepy little village 13km from Edappadi town, EPS now enjoys the support of the majority of cadre and functionaries of the AIADMK, a 1.5-crore member party. To get this far, however, EPS had to tread a long and onerous journey.
In the 1980s, EPS was a small-time functionary at the party's branch level. After completing his undergraduation in Erode, he took up the job of a commission agent, collecting jaggery from farmers in villages around Edappadi and taking it to the Perundurai market. After selling jaggery at the market, he took a commission and handed over the remaining money to farmers. He also cultivated the family's land, along with his brother K Govindhan.
Palaniswami’s father Karuppanna Gounder was a farmer who owned around 60 acres on the Cauvery river basin in Siluvampalayam. In the beginning, Karuppanna Gounder was a DMK sympathiser.
He did not approve of Palaniswami being active in politics and insisted that he focussed on his profession and make a career out of it. After noticing his son's growth in politics, however, Karuppanna relented.
Within two years of his defeat in the panchayat election, Palaniswami was elected as MLA from
Edappadi in 1989 when he contested on the Rooster Symbol, which was allocated to Jayalalithaa’s faction following the split in AIADMK. K A Sengottaiyan, one of the party's senior leaders, played a crucial role in Palaniswami's getting that seat.
Since then, Palaniswami's political career has witnessed many ups and downs. He was elected as MLA in 1991 but defeated in 1996. In 1998, he was elected as MP but lost in the 1999-parliamentary election. In the 2001 Assembly election, he was not given a ticket.
He lost in 2006 but won in 2011, and was appointed minister for highways and road transportation. It was around this time that Palaniswami prefixed Edappadi to his name. He was elected again in 2016 and became the PWD minister. In 2017, after the tumultuous period that followed the death of J Jayalalithaa, he became the chief minister and shared the party's leadership with his colleague-turned-rival O Panneerselvam.
Palaniswami made his political presence felt in the Vanniyar belt in Salem and took up many developmental works in Edappadi. The quality of roads improved, especially on the stretch between Edappadi and Siluvampalayam. Edappadi municipal town now has an outer ring road that made trips easier to surrounding locations in the district.
The government hospital was upgraded with 31 treatment facilities and more land was brought under cultivation. R Murugesan, a farmer who owns four-acre at Poolampatti, said: “My land used to be fallow and I was primarily a labourer. Now, I cultivate sugarcane and banana on my land with water from Cauvery irrigation scheme implemented when EPS was CM. I employ four workers and my standard of living improved much. I don't belong to any political party, but I support Palaniswami for his work done in the constituency.”
A DMK functionary holding a ward secretary post in Edappadi, on condition of anonymity, said EPS helped him get a Class 2 seat for his son in a reputed school in Salem. "I visited EPS, then CM, at the circuit house in Edappadi and sought help. The school admitted my son the next day. He knew I was from the DMK. But he helped nonetheless." The DMK functionary, however, said Palaniswami took caste seriously. "For instance, while giving water connection to farmers, those from the Gounder community were given importance. Vanniyars were side lined. He thinks Gounders should be dominant in the region despite Vanniyars being the majority,” he said.
A functionary from the DMK in Edappadi, who couldn't contest against EPS in 1989, said electing Palaniswami to lead AIADMK would weaken the party as it would spilt AIADMK caste-wise, between Gounders and Thevars. AIADMK cadre whom TNIE met in Edappadi, were confident that EPS would take the party to new heights. EPS’s elder brother K Govindhan refused to comment on EPS's slated elevation to AIADMK saying he would speak after the GC meeting.