Caste dictates several electoral outcomes in Tamil Nadu’s assembly seats but for the first time it is also seeing mass loyalty within a political party: the AIADMK. Until J Jayalalithaa was alive, her confidante V K Sasikala who belongs to the Thevar community groomed men from the community, including O Panneerselvam (OPS), to occupy leadership positions. Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) began changing that scenario as he countered the Thevar domination with the consolidation of his Gounder community. This new equation can be traced to 2017 with the steady rise of EPS after he became chief minister thanks to Sasikala, but he has successfully kept her out.
While the Gounder community is dominant in the western region of Tamil Nadu, the Thevar community’s bedrock is the southern region – both communities belong to OBCs. The western region has been AIADMK’s bastion and the only region which performed better than the rest even during the 2021 assembly polls. After EPS was elected interim general secretary on July 11, 2022 and OPS was expelled, a wounded OPS has been rallying support with his community base in the south of the state. “We plan to tour the southern districts to show OPS’ strength,” said a leader in the OPS camp.
Caste was a key factor in AIADMK’s ally BJP convincing OPS to stay out of the Erode East bypoll slated for February 27 as the assembly constituency comes under the western region. Earlier this month, on February 3, BJP president K Annamalai and national secretary C T Ravi met EPS and OPS back to back on the issue of both of them fielding candidates. “Annamalai told OPS that this isn’t even his stronghold and his candidate may not do well. Annamalai and EPS belong to the same community so we feel he is favouring EPS. Among many reasons community is definitely a factor,” a veteran leader supporting OPS said.
Yet, the BJP doesn’t wish to rub OPS on the wrong side as the southern region commands at least 60 assembly seats and those competing for it are OPS, TTV Dhinakaran, the BJP as well as EPS. Political observers say that EPS would not want to disturb caste-based vote back either after expelling OPS in July 2022.
So, two days after EPS took over as interim general secretary, he replaced positions held by OPS as party treasurer and deputy leader of opposition with Dindigul Srinivasan and R B Udhaykumar – both belonging to the Thevar community. In EPS’ new set of office-bearers, caste equations were borne in mind. One of the two deputy general secretaries, Natham R Viswanathan, is a Thevar and the second was given to K P Munusamy, a Vanniyar which is a caste dominant in north Tamil Nadu, after he jumped ship from OPS’ side. Four of the 11 new organising secretaries are Thevars. Some of these leaders were Sasikala’s picks for the party when she was a major behind-the-scenes player.
Sasikala’s husband late M Natarajan played a part in Jayalalithaa’s initial days. “Natarajan persuaded Jayalalithaa that she requires the support of the Thevar community to shed her Brahim identity,” says political analyst Raveendran Duraisamy. Even when Jayalalithaa was out of power, the Thevars backed her, he said, alluding to the impression that the Thevars from Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district from where Sasikala hails were in control of the party. “But to prevent a revolt, Sasikala had to choose a Gounder and she chose EPS. Since 2017, AIADMK has been a Gounder party and it has been a fight between two communities. After EPS crushed TTV and Sasikala, the Thevars have been against him. Which is why after he expelled OPS he appointed Thevar leaders to appease the community.”
Soon after Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016, two Thevars led the AIADMK in the government and in the party — OPS as chief minister and Sasikala as interim general secretary. After a dramatic turn of events, OPS rebellion and EPS joining hands with, the party took a very different shape. A look at the rise of EPS who also gave a hand to his close aides to climb up gives an idea into the building of the Gounder community even when OPS was present alongside him.
When AIADMK was governing, Lok Sabha deputy speaker M Thambidurai and the party’s presidium chairman K A Segottaiyan were from his community. SP Velumani, former municipal administration minister considered close to EPS, is charged by the Director of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) in two cases of disproportionate assets. DVAC has raided Velumani, a sitting MLA thrice, since the DMK formed the government in May 2021. According to one FIR registered by the DVAC last September, Velumani has been accused of awarding favourable tenders for a project announced by EPS in the state assembly in 2015 to replace sodium street lights with LEDs, causing a loss of ₹500 crore to the state exchequer. Velumani was so influential that he came to be dubbed locally and informally as the chief minister of Coimbatore.
“AIADMK has never seen such caste divisions,” said a leader who has been with the party since its early days under founder M G Ramachandran (MGR). “Even when Sasikala was dominant, the party was not split along caste lines.”
For the masses, Tamil Nadu’s late Dravidian stalwarts — K Kamaraj, C N Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa– were seen beyond their caste, he said.
