AIADMK ally PMK revives reservation demand ahead of 2021 TN assembly polls

The PMK has revived an old demand of reservation for the Vanniyar community in Tamil Nadu’s educational institutions and government jobs.

On the heels of the ruling AIADMK announcing that its alliance with the BJP will continue for the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly election, another regional ally - the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) - has revived an old demand for reservation to put pressure on the government.

PMK and its parent outfit, Vanniyar Sangam will hold daily protests starting December in Chennai demanding a 20% sub quota reservation for the Vanniyar community in the state’s educational institutions and government jobs. The PMK has revived the demand in recent months.

PMK founder S Ramadoss lamented that though they were in alliance with the ruling AIADMK, it was of “no use”. He said that they were also let down by former DMK patriarch and late chief minister M Karunanidhi. If their demands aren’t met, Ramadoss warned that they will intensify the protest across the state like the reservation-based agitations led by Patidars in Gujarat and Gujjars in Rajasthan.

Though PMK hasn’t fared well in elections, they retain clout amongst the Dravidian majors for assembly elections because of their dominating influence in the Vanniyar community - their core vote bank in Tamil Nadu’s western and northern belt. PMK leader and former union minister Anbumani Ramadoss said that the reservations were not just a caste-based issue but also a developmental issue.

The party and their affiliated organisations will begin their protest in front of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) in Chennai “We filed an RTI with TNPSC for details on case-based reservations but they rejected it. We want to ascertain the beneficiaries belonging to the Vanniyar community as it remains the most backward,” said PMK spokesperson Vinoba Bhoopathy.