- AIADMK faced turbulence after Jayalalithaa's death and leadership shifted to EPS
- EPS sidelined Thevar leaders, shifting power to western Tamil Nadu's Gounder community
- EPS's alliance with BJP led to loss of minority votes and alienation of Dravidian voters
For a party built around towering personalities and mass charisma, the transition after the death of J Jayalalithaa was always going to be turbulent. Founded by matinee idol and political phenomenon M G Ramachandran, the AIADMK had survived for decades on the extraordinary appeal of two leaders - MGR and Jayalalithaa - both of whom repeatedly converted personal popularity into electoral victories.
MGR won three consecutive elections. Jayalalithaa too scripted history by returning to power for two successive terms before she died in 2016. Into those enormous shoes stepped Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), a loyalist who was neither groomed nor publicly identified by Jayalalithaa as her political heir.
If there was ever a trusted stand-in for Jayalalithaa, it was O Panneerselvam, who was twice entrusted with the Chief Minister's chair when she had to step down following court convictions.
But Tamil Nadu politics took a dramatic turn after Jayalalithaa's death and the conviction and imprisonment of Jayalalithaa's aide V K Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case, after she became AIADMK chief. Sasikala handpicked EPS as Chief Minister, replacing OPS, who had once again assumed office. Many believed EPS would remain politically pliable while Sasikala controlled the government from behind bars. Instead, he stitched up a temporary truce with OPS and expelled Sasikala from the party, consolidating control over the AIADMK.
What followed, critics say, was a prolonged effort to eliminate rivals and centralise authority - a process that may ultimately have weakened the party irreversibly.
The Thevar Factor
For decades, the AIADMK enjoyed unwavering support from the influential Thevar community across southern Tamil Nadu. OPS, Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dhinakaran all belonged to the same community, giving the party a powerful social base in the south.
Political observers argue that EPS disturbed this delicate balance. Not only were OPS, Sasikala and Dhinakaran sidelined or expelled, but the party's power centre also visibly shifted towards western Tamil Nadu, particularly leaders from the Gounder community to which EPS belongs.
Several senior positions within the organisation went to leaders from the western belt, fuelling resentment among traditional support bases in the south. Even after repeated electoral setbacks, EPS refused to readmit expelled leaders despite appeals from some of them to return, even as ordinary party workers.
The consequences were severe. For the first time in its history, the AIADMK remained out of power for two consecutive terms under EPS's leadership.
OPS has since aligned with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and tasted electoral success again. Dhinakaran eventually reconciled with EPS and contested under the NDA banner. Sasikala, meanwhile, floated a separate front with PMK founder S. Ramadoss to politically challenge EPS.
BJP Alliance and Minority Drift
Another major criticism against EPS has been his repeated alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party at a time when the saffron party continues to face resistance in Tamil Nadu and is seen as a liability.
Jayalalithaa had distanced the AIADMK from the BJP after earlier experiments with the alliance. EPS, however, fought three out of the four elections the AIADMK lost after Jayalalithaa's death in alliance with the BJP.
Party insiders privately admit that this contributed to a steady erosion of minority votes that once formed an important component of the AIADMK coalition. The perception that the party had become dependent on the BJP also alienated sections of traditional Dravidian voters.
Failure to Align with Vijay
Critics within the AIADMK also point to what they describe as EPS's biggest political miscalculation - his inability to ally with actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
For months before the election, Vijay avoided directly attacking the AIADMK, fuelling speculation about a possible understanding between the two parties. But EPS chose instead to renew ties with the BJP after briefly snapping the alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The gamble failed.
Even after the election produced a fractured mandate with TVK emerging as the single largest party with 108 seats, there was another opportunity for the AIADMK to share power and avoid a decade-long spell in opposition. Sections within the newly elected AIADMK legislature party reportedly favoured supporting a TVK-led coalition government.
Instead, EPS attempted to explore a broader Dravidian coalition arrangement with outside support from arch rival the DMK - a plan that never materialised. By then, Vijay had moved swiftly to form the government with the support of the Indian National Congress and outside backing from DMK allies, including the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, the Indian Union Muslim League, the CPI, and the CPM. VCK and IUML later formally joined the coalition government.
Rewriting MGR's Vision
Perhaps the sharpest criticism against EPS is that he fundamentally altered the internal democratic structure envisioned by MGR.
MGR had wanted the AIADMK to function as a cadre-driven movement in which any grassroots worker could theoretically aspire to the party's top post. But to prevent rivals such as OPS or Sasikala from capturing the organisation, EPS amended the party bylaws in ways critics say made it extremely difficult for challengers to contest for leadership positions.
Opponents accuse him of concentrating authority around himself despite repeated electoral defeats, undermining the participatory culture MGR had once championed.
The Final Straw
The latest crisis may prove the most serious yet.
Twenty-five of the AIADMK's 47 MLAs defied the leadership and voted in favour of the TVK government during the recent trust vote, openly challenging EPS's authority. Rebel legislators are now demanding that the party convene its General Council meeting, arguing that four consecutive electoral defeats have weakened its legitimacy.
EPS, however, remains defiant. He has insisted that the AIADMK's vote share survived "only because of him" and accused rebels of betraying the party in pursuit of power.
But for many in the AIADMK, the question is no longer merely about leadership. It is about whether a movement built by MGR and sustained by Jayalalithaa can survive the steady erosion of its social coalitions, internal democracy and mass appeal under EPS.
