Two cards, a leader and the rebirth of a party

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. With the consolidation of political power in the hands of Palaniswami, which Elected as Interim General Secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)A complex process of paradigm shift in Dravidian politics has more or less been completed, and a new era is set to begin.

It was clear that a profound change was coming, beginning in late 2016 Former AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa passes away, when . era of Former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M Karunanidhi also joins history books At the end of 2018, there was no doubt that the 50-year-old Dravidian mobilization project would stop relying purely on the whims and fantasies of strong and strong women-leaders. Now, performance in the office and delivery of good governance, policies that matter to the daily lives of citizens, matter more than ever.

editorial | Double trouble: On ruckus in AIADMK

In order to better understand the prognosis of this unique social movement, which has produced unprecedented socio-economic outcomes, including poverty alleviation, nutritional achievements and educational innovation in primary education, without ignoring the imperatives of economic growth and industrial development, it is It is worth considering why the balance of power in state politics has become like this.

centralization of power

The recent meeting of the AIADMK General Council, which saw Mr Palaniswami’s indifference and restructuring of top positions within the party structure, hints at the direction in which the leadership plans to run the organization in the years to come. First, the ground was laid for an era change, first through the unanimous repeal of Rule 20 by the council, which had assured Jayalalithaa since its introduction in 2017 that Jayalalithaa would remain the party’s “perpetual general secretary”. The repeal of this rule has dealt a double blow to the old ethos of the AIADMK.

More than five years after Jayalalithaa’s death, on the one hand it clearly acknowledges that she was not so much a god as her name – “Amma” – politically useful to mobilize women, the destitute and The rally continues. Other vulnerable groups and minorities in the State; And a symbol of the party’s promise to fulfill the welfare policies that the AIADMK has historically been accustomed to.

On the other hand, and through the mechanism of New Rule 20A, which sets the eligibility criteria for the now-revived post of General Secretary in terms of party membership and minimum length of service in senior office-bearing capacities at the party’s Chennai headquarters. , the latest changes ensure that only Sri Palaniswami will take over the reins of the AIADMK organization going forward.

Despite several incidents of violence in Chennai and some areas across the state linked to this reorganization of power within the AIADMK, Mr. Palaniswami’s rise has been largely a bloodless coup. Yet it was a democratic coup, as it abruptly ended a volatile era of dual vectors of power within the party, an arrangement that was necessary to accommodate both Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam at the helm of the state government. There was a compromise. And one should not throw away the election victory given as the last act before Jayalalithaa’s health declines.

New Age, New Testament

This brings us to the question of why the ecosystem in which Sri Palaniswami now finds himself is different from the one enjoyed by his predecessors. During the nearly four years of Dumavirate’s influence following Jayalalithaa’s death, Sri Palaniswami made his mark as chief minister, primarily from the long-standing impulse towards competitive populism in Tamil Nadu politics to support good governance. Going beyond This meant ensuring that the state government covered everything from crop insurance for farmers in drought-hit regions of Tamil Nadu to the second Global Investors’ Meet held in 2019, procuring and distributing safety gear and supplying vital commodities during a brutal first year. Worked firmly on everything to manage. from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet this explicit commitment to a high level of performance in delivering genuine, pro-people, pro-development policies was not so much a choice as to the compulsion of the political environment. Given the despotic autocratic style of party administration of Jayalalithaa, who deliberately let down several levels of her leadership, Mr Palaniswami and Mr Panneerselvam never got the chance to retain the control of the entire party, which was necessary to maintain . To prevent discord, factionalism and dissent from creating deep rifts in the organizational structure, with potentially disastrous consequences for the AIADMK’s hold on power.

It must also be said that for the best part of the half-century that MG Ramachandran, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa ruled Tamil Nadu, grand corruption was rampant in the high office, which led to huge amounts of illicit personal wealth amassed by party stalwarts . The people of Tamil Nadu, who had earlier resigned from the Faustian deal of receiving collective welfare goods while allowing their owners to plunder the exchequer, have now woken up to a new reality where they demand greater accountability from the government. and reward the strong performers.

In this new context, Sri Palaniswami had to strike a consensus among various caste and regional leaders across the state, built on his power to persuade, but the tact in distributing the government’s generosity and the direction of maintaining It was also built on striking bargaining. stability of governance.

It is a different matter, however, that the AIADMK was ousted from power in the 2021 state assembly elections – a result that also reflected voters’ concerns about the party and Mr. Panneerselvam’s alleged closeness with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). – What matters most. The current context for the party is that those years in government gave Sri Palaniswami an opportunity to showcase his skills in the subtle art of political adjustment.

The proof of that pudding lies in the fact that now most of the party office-bearers and district secretaries, while heading the main opposition, have placed their faith in his ability to single-handedly lead the AIADMK in the future. state, and a challenger to the DMK in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2026 state assembly elections.

Back to Competitive Populism

However, the future of political glory for Mr Palaniswami is by no means sure, and due to the many external threats to the AIADMK, his brilliance as a broker of the political system will be tested. First, Mr. Panneerselvam is bent on exhausting every legal avenue to appeal to the General Council’s actions and will leverage his influence with the BJP leadership to insist on this count. Second, even if he does not have a legal alternative, Mr. Panneerselvam’s proximity to the BJP makes it impossible to rule out the use of raids by the Income Tax Department or the Enforcement Directorate to destabilize the functioning of the AIADMK led by Mr. Palaniswami. Third, it is possible that VK Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s confidante, her nephew TTV Dhinakaran and her party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, may be trying to capture the Thevar caste vote in alliance with Mr. Panneerselvam that dominates certain sections. In the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, potentially eating into the vote share of the AIADMK.

Even though he survived these potential hurdles posed by Panneerselvam, Mr. Palaniswami’s ultimate challenge would be to make it clear to voters what ideology and policies the AIADMK stands for after Jayalalithaa – aimed at clearly portraying his party. To do. Taking a strong stand against the politics of DMK and Hindutva, Dravidians are piercing the shield of exceptionalism.

Whatever strategy Mr Palaniswami adopts in this regard, one thing is clear – the politics of competitive populism will rise once again, with a single leader headed by each major Dravidian party with the mandate to steer the ship as they see fit. . In the process, even though it remains a challenge for Dravidian party leaders to effectively curb rampant corruption in public office, it is likely that development-driven policies and public welfare schemes for the poorest sections will receive wider attention. .

narayan@thehindu.co.in