- AIADMK chief E Palaniswami also urged that Madurai Airport be named after Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar
- AIADMK faces challenges after exit of Thevar leaders O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran
- EPS had earlier promoted leaders from his own Gounder community, sidelining Thevar leaders
In a significant political move aimed at consolidating support among the Thevar community, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS has demanded Bharat Ratna - the highest Indian civilian award -- for freedom fighter and community icon Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.
Speaking at Aathoor in Dindigul district, a Thevar stronghold, on Sunday, EPS also urged the Union government to name the Madurai Airport after Thevar, assuring that the AIADMK would "take up these demands with the Centre and do everything required to fulfil them".
Though these are old demands, EPS's pitch comes at a politically sensitive time, with the AIADMK grappling with the exit of prominent Thevar leaders O Panneerselvam (OPS) and TTV Dhinakaran from the NDA.
The development that has unsettled the party's traditional base in southern Tamil Nadu and the party is trying hard to retain the vote of the Thevar community.
Earlier, the AIADMK's move to expel OPS, Sasikala, and Dhinakaran in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa's death had already weakened the AIADMK's support in the southern districts during the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Recollecting Muthuramalinga Thevar's contributions, EPS said the late leader had "donated large portions of his properties without discriminating on the basis of caste, creed or religion".
He also won both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats unopposed, he added, positioning Thevar as a national figure deserving of the highest civilian honour.
For decades, the Thevar community had stood solidly behind the AIADMK, with Jayalalithaa seen as a leader who gave them prominence. She elevated OPS from the Thevar community as stand-in Chief Minister twice when she was convicted.
Later, he was the natural choice to be Chief Minister in 2016 when she was hospitalised. Her aide VK Sasikala, also a Thevar, reinforced the perception that Jayalalithaa had nurtured the community within the AIADMK.
The dynamics shifted after EPS, from the Gounder community, rose to power following Jayalalithaa's death.
Handpicked by Sasikala for the post of the Chief Minister, EPS consolidated the party's western belt by promoting leaders from his own community while sidelining Thevar heavyweights.
The expulsion of Sasikala, OPS, and Dhinakaran had deepened the discontent among Thevar cadres.
Compounding the alienation, both OPS and Dhinakaran were later inducted into the NDA after the AIADMK briefly snapped ties with the BJP in 2023, but they were sidelined once EPS revived the alliance.
OPS was reportedly denied a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Tuticorin visit, while Dhinakaran was left out of an NDA event in Chennai to honour late Congress leader G K Moopanar.
Accusing EPS of betrayal, Dhinakaran has tacitly indicated that he would only return to the NDA only if there is a leadership change in the AIADMK.
EPS has denied any betrayal, insisting that he was chosen by AIADMK MLAs and not Sasikala.
The two sidelined leaders have now joined hands to regain lost ground.
EPS's latest push for the Bharat Ratna recognition for Muthuramalinga Thevar is therefore seen as a calibrated attempt to reclaim the confidence of a community that feels increasingly isolated within the AIADMK, ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
