AIADMK makes yet another blunder by boycotting Vikravandi bypoll

The AIADMK seems to be going down a path of self-destruction in Tamil Nadu, its latest tactical blunder being its decision to boycott the Vikravandi Assembly bypoll last week.

Not only did it hand the seat on a platter to the ruling DMK but it also allowed the BJP to make further inroads into the state, adding grist to the BJP claim that it’s growing at a faster pace in Tamil Nadu than the AIADMK. In fact, even smaller parties such as the Pattalli Makkal Katchi (PMK), now part of the BJP-led NDA, and the Nam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) made gains in the bypolls despite losing out to DMK.

EPS under pressure

In what is being seen as a desperate move by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami to retain the confidence of party functionaries and cadres, he has held a series of meetings with party functionaries from various districts in the past few days. For the first time in several years, he is under pressure, even from his own supporters, after repeated failures in elections since 2017. The workers, worried about the party’s fate in the 2026 Assembly elections, are now expressing dissatisfaction over the leadership’s continued failure to defeat the DMK and even the BJP.

Palaniswami is indeed largely responsible for this state of affairs, as he has failed to put up a strong opposition to the DMK, and has come a cropper when it comes to forging alliances, while his main opponent, MK Stalin of the DMK, has been successful in not only building a strong alliance of parties but also in sustaining and expanding it at every single opportunity.

Expulsion of all threat

Palaniswami’s failure can be credited to several factors. First, his obstinate refusal to share space in the party with people he saw as threats has weakened the AIADMK. These include former chief minister O Panneerselvam, the late CM and party chief J Jayalalithaa’s pillar of strength VK Sasikala, and Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who has formed a splinter party.

Palaniswami is now seen as a leader more worried about his own chair, who does not want any challenge to his leadership from any quarter, and therefore is trigger-happy, trying to nip in the bud any possible criticism. As a result, the AIADMK has not only undergone splits, but continues to suffer from the aftershocks of the expulsions.

No charisma

Another problem is that Palaniswami does not carry the aura or charisma of party founder MGR or Jayalalithaa. He is not an orator or a prolific writer like K Karunanidhi. Stalin, too, suffers in that department but to a lesser extent since he has inherited Karunanidhi’s legacy, and has the strong support of powerful allies who can help negate any anti-incumbency trend.

Palaniswami’s comments against the BJP are also shallow, more directed at the party’s state chief K Annamalai as the fallout of an ego clash rather than criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah or the BJP’s Hindutva ideology. His attempt to build an anti-BJP front — to try to split the minority votes, which are now going almost entirely to the DMK-led combine — does not evoke any conviction. Palaniswami, at a meeting with some party functionaries on Tuesday (July 16), reportedly admitted that the strategy to woo the minorities had failed, as they did not trust the AIADMK’s anti-BJP stance and believed there was a secret understanding between the two parties.

Lost opportunities

Thus, the crucial question before the AIADMK and Palaniswami is how to erase this image. At the same time, Palaniswami has left little space for a change in strategy by refusing to bring back Sasikala, OPS, and Dhinakaran to the party.

At least, the AIADMK could have contested the Vikravandi bypoll to safeguard its position as the number two party in the state. It could have used the election campaign to highlight its anti-BJP stance and tried to whip up anti-incumbency sentiments against the DMK. By abandoning the battlefield well before the beginning of the war, Palaniswami is now facing flak even from a section of the AIADMK — a party that is now effectively rudderless.

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