Will change of guard turn PMK’s fortunes?

The regional party with a strong voter base in the Vanniyar community has always aimed to emerge on its own but they have had to settle oscillating between the DMK and AIADMK. Except in 2016, when PMK believed they were ready to take on the Dravidian parties

Chennai: On May 28 last year, inside a banquet hall in Chennai, there was rapturous applause when then Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president G K Mani announced that it would be 52-year-old Anbumani Ramadoss to whom they are handing over the party his father S Ramadoss founded. Mani set a clear objective on the dias that day: to take the party to the next level in Tamil Nadu politics and form the government by achieving the mission PMK 2.0, they are handing over the responsibility to the next generation.

PMK, currently an NDA ally, is trying to experiment with the idea of going solo again – like they did in 2016 assembly elections – with Anbumani as their chief ministerial candidate. (ANI)

Junior Ramadoss’ elevation from youth wing leader to becoming the chief of his father’s party was expected. A teary-eyed Ramadoss hugged his son and rallied the cadre to work to ensure that a PMK government is formed under Anbumani in Tamil Nadu in 2026.

Eight months later, junior Ramadoss, a Rajya Sabha MP and former Union health minister, is working towards that. PMK, currently an NDA ally, is trying to experiment with the idea of going solo again – like they did in 2016 assembly elections – with Anbumani as their chief ministerial candidate. But can it work?

The regional party with a strong voter base in the Vanniyar community has always aimed to emerge on its own but they have had to settle oscillating between the DMK and AIADMK. Except in 2016, when PMK believed they were ready to take on the Dravidian parties.

Anbumani ran an Obama-style campaign promising ‘change’ and ‘development’ to shed the impression of being a Vanniyar caste-based party. But even Anbumani couldn’t win his seat in 2016 and the PMK drew a blank.

Yet, he has sparked off speculation again after Anbumani in a party meeting earlier this week had remarked that since their alliance leader AIADMK is split into four factions, PMK has space to grow. On January 4, when reporters asked Anbumani about the AIADMK, he said he agrees with PMK spokesperson K Baalu’s statement that only with their support Edappadi Palaniswami had remained CM from 2019. “Our aim is to form a PMK-led alliance for the 2026 assembly elections,” Anbumani said then.

The AIADMK and PMK had a verbal spat over who benefitted from their alliance the most. “It was Amma (J Jayalalithaa) who brought them into the party,” said a senior AIADMK leader not wishing to be named.

On speculation that he may join hands with the ruling DMK, Anbumani said he only appreciated the party when they did good work and the PMK will also protest against bad governance.“For us, there is no difference between the DMK and AIADMK. We have also welcomed and protested over various schemes of the AIADMK during their regime. It’s the same during the DMK regime,” Anbumani said. “For 55 years, the two parties have ruled Tamil Nadu and now there is a feeling amongst people that they have had enough. So we are strategising accordingly. We are strengthening our party in the southern region.”

PMK is often seen as a bellwether, since they are known to align with the side perceived to have an edge in the elections in Tamil Nadu, say political observers. However, that wasn’t the case in 2021 since the AIADMK-PMK- BJP coalition was humbled by the DMK’s Secular Progressive Alliance. Despite the 10.5% internal reservation provided by the AIADMK government for the Vanniyar community just before the polls, it appeased the PMK to stay in the alliance but not their vote bank to make a difference. 82-year-old senior Ramadoss who founded PMK in 1989 has been unhappy that the PMK couldn’t establish itself despite having faced six assembly and nine parliamentary elections. PMK currently has a vote share of 4%. They faced the local body polls alone in February 2022.

Party insiders say the 2024 general elections will give them a fair idea of how they can place themselves for the 2026 polls. “Our aim is to have at least five members in the Parliament,” said a PMK leader. During UPA-1 (2004-2009), Anbumani was an MP in the Lok Sabha and union minister for health. “After that we haven’t had an MP. We will assess who supports us in 2024, what kind of coalition we can have for 2026.”

During his tenure as union health minister, Anbumani introduced several schemes. Smoking was banned in public spaces across the country under him. In Tamil Nadu, PMK continues to rally for total prohibition besides seeking a ban on online gambling. Anbumani will start a padyatra on January 7 against Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s plans to acquire agricultural lands in Cuddalore for mining.

Political expert Raveendran Duraisamy said, “Though Anbumani replaced Mani who held PMK’s presidency for 25 years, Anbumani was calling the shots. Mani was both Anbumani and Ramdoss’ man. The Vanniyar community had already accepted Anbumani as the leader so how he extends his outreach remains to be seen.”

When all five MLAs from the PMK belong to the Vanniyar, the party cannot shed its caste image, said Duraisamy. “PMK wanting to lead an alliance will be a repeat of their 2016 performance. Except PMK, other parties may not accept Anbumani as the chief ministerial candidate.”