Tamil Nadu Opposition leader Vijayakanth aka Captain’s ship—DMDK—is again floundering in choppy waters. The Dravidian party received its biggest blow yet when its presidium chairman and deputy leader of Opposition Panruti S Ramachandran announced his retirement from active politics this week citing “current style of leadership” in the party as the reason.
The blow comes on the heels of the drubbing the party got in the recent Delhi Assembly polls. Vijayakanth’s efforts to expand the party’s reach outside Tamil Nadu turned into a complete disaster with the candidates losing their deposit in all the 11 seats.
As if Vijayakanth’s plate of woes was not already full. Over the last one year, he has seen seven of his MLAs revolting against his leadership and shifting loyalties to the ruling AIADMK. Interestingly, Vijayakanth lost his members to the same party with which he romped home in the 2011 Assembly polls. The alliance ended soon after the polls with CM J Jayalalithaa terming it a mistake. “I am ashamed and regret the fact that AIADMK faced the polls with unqualified persons who don’t even know how to behave after reaching the top,” Jaya said in the Assembly after a fiery verbal clash with Vijayakanth and en masse eviction of DMDK members. Jaya cautioned that DMDK’s good times were over and a downslide would soon begin. Since then there hasn’t been a silver lining for DMDK to look forward to.
In the latest episode, Ramachandran did not pull the curtains down on his political career silently. On his way out, the leader blamed Vijayakanth’s style of functioning for the outfit losing the plot.
Ramchandran told The Sunday Standard, “The current style of leadership should change. The Lok Sabha elections would be an indicator. All I can say is that the good perception of the people about DMDK has gone down.”
A close associate of former chief minister M G Ramachandran, ‘Panrutiyar’, as he is fondly called, had been with the DMDK since its inception in 2005. Considered the main think tank of the party, Ramachandran was instrumental in the DMDK aligning with the AIADMK in the last Assembly polls.
Ramchandran was never happy about parting ways with the AIADMK. He said, “The DMDK leadership thought that the party could grow only by criticising the CM. I could not go with that perception. I told the leadership that such a strategy will only help the DMK and will not benefit the DMDK.”
A trusted lieutenant of MGR, Panruti was known for his political acumen and articulation and served in the MGR Cabinet with different portfolios. After MGR’s death in 1987, he went on to join S Ramadoss in the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and helped it open its account in the 1991 state elections. But differences with Ramadoss, forced him to quit. A prolonged hiatus followed before the launch of the DMDK in 2005.
Another irritant for Ramachandran was the growing influence of Vijayakanth’s family members, especially his wife Premalatha overshadowing his importance.
The last straw was the party’s decision to contest the Delhi elections, ignoring his advice.
