OPS in DMK adds spice to TN contest

OPS is a big catch for the DMK, which has been aggressively expanding its coalition in order to win a second consecutive term in Chennai

Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam (OPS) was the quintessential loyalist of the late J Jayalalithaa. Twice, the AIADMK supremo trusted him with the Tamil Nadu chief minister (CM)’s office (in 2001 and 2014) when she had to resign following court orders. However, the mild-mannered OPS couldn’t hold his ground or assert his eminence within the AIADMK after Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016, though the party made him the CM a third time. In the leadership battle, OPS lost out to Edappadi Palaniswami, who expelled him and his associates from the AIADMK. Last week, he joined the DMK after his attempts to find an honourable re-entry into the AIADMK failed, despite his closeness to the BJP. In the presence of DMK chief and CM of the state, MK Stalin, OPS said that he was returning to the thai kazhagam (mother outfit), the DMK.

In the presence of DMK chief and CM of the state, MK Stalin, OPS said that he was returning to the thai kazhagam (mother outfit), the DMK. (DMK)

OPS is a big catch for the DMK, which has been aggressively expanding its coalition in order to win a second consecutive term in Chennai. The party recently welcomed the DMDK, the late actor Vijayakanth’s party, into the fold of its larger secular progressive alliance and is in talks with a host of smaller groups, who will contest under the DMK flag and symbol. OPS, however, has no organisation to boast about, and his influential associates have moved away. But the three-time CM could add heft to the DMK in southern Tamil Nadu, where the party has been historically weak. He belongs to the Mukkalathor group — an OBC community of three politically significant rural castes — which is relatively underrepresented in the DMK leadership.The loss of OPS could come back to haunt the NDA (and the AIADMK), especially if the election, due in the summer, turns out to be a close contest.