AIADMK in disarray

The split in the legislature party of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (AIADMK) does not augur well for Tamil Nadu where the party has acted as a viable alternative to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK) with power alternating between the two Dravidian parties for nearly six decades. Splits and mergers have not been new to the AIADMK, more so after death of its iconic leaders like MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa.

Earlier too, factionalism within the party led to splits with rebel factions led by Janaki, TTV Dhinakaran, O. Panneerselvam and Sasikala claiming the legacy of departed leaders and failing in convincing followers as well as voters of the mother organisation. However, the central organization remained intact. The current turn of events however points to a power struggle splintering the legislature party with 25 of the 42 MLAs of the breakaway faction voting for the government headed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhgam (TMK) led by chief minister Joseph Vijay.

There is no gainsaying that the desire for a share in power with the ruling party has also played a role, more so when CM Vijay’s ruling combination is also looking for stable allies who can replace the disparate small groups. This must have acted as the immediate trigger for the split of the AIADMK. But there is also no denying that the current split signals an intense internal power struggle within the party.

The breakaway group of rebels within the Assembly might be using the backchannel communication between DMK and the AIADMK merely as a red herring. The temptation to share power with Vijay’s TMK is being camouflaged behind allegation of authoritarian ways of leader of the official wing led by Edappadi Palaniswamy. However, Palaniswamy is not totally blameless.

The way prominent leaders such as former chief minister Panneerselvam and Sengottiyan were eased out of the party had left much to be said about his stewardship of the party left rudderless after death of iconic leaders. The emergence of TMK in Tamil Nadu provides room for several imponderables. The latest split in AIADMK is just one.

It only unveils a new phase in the politics of a state attuned to hero-worship and parties led by strong leaders. However, the party can take solace in the fact there are still no signs of the split extending to the party outside the legislature. The larger question that would require answers from both traditional rivals, the DMK and the AIADMK, is how do they negotiate the future strategy now that voters have put an entirely new face and force into power in a state so addicted to Dravidian ethos, welfarism and celluloid appeal.