Jayalalithaa’s Legacy Was a Contested Trophy That Broke Up AIADMK. For ‘True Heir’ EPS, Real Fight Begins Now

There is one similarity in the legacies of M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa – both came into controversy soon after their deaths.

O Panneerselvam was the stand-in chief minister while Jayalalithaa was in the Apollo Hospital unit in Chennai for about 75 days. After his demise in December 2016, the VK Sasikala-Panneerselvam battle for his legacy nearly brought down his government and paved the way for the BJP to gain a firm foothold in party affairs. That root is still a constant swallow for the AIADMK.

In the case of DMK, Stalin’s elder brother MK Alagiri has been a claimant to Karunanidhi’s legacy. He organized a huge rally in Chennai in September 2018 and took them to his father’s grave by the Marina, a clear indication that the reins of Kalaignar would not be passed on to him without a contest. But later, when he arranged a meeting with the DMK cadre back in Madurai, his absence was a clear indication—the party remained with Stalin. Alagiri seems to have resigned to reality and moved on.

While Karunanidhi’s entire legacy, goodwill and political authority has been successfully inherited by MK Stalin, Jayalalithaa is split, having contested elections for more than six years now, and fighting for her fighting spirit, ‘military discipline’ The known party is headed for a decline. And clearly anti-DMK stand.

After the death of Jayalalithaa, AIADMK came under the wheels of factionalism. Panneerselvam’s ill-fated ‘Dharmayudham’ did not split the party in two, but badly destabilized it. Palaniswami had to win a vote of confidence in the assembly and run a government that seemed to be skating on thin ice in terms of legislative power.

The BJP factor was unacceptable. Palaniswami’s near-deference to the national party on several key issues became a tool for going to town with the opposition DMK – AIADMK MPs had voted in favor of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act in Parliament. In the subsequent assembly elections, the AIADMK did a U-turn, promising to urge the Center to repeal the law.

The AIADMK is in a much better position now than it was just after Jayalalithaa’s death. Palaniswami has just won the Supreme Court’s approval that the General Council’s decision has elected him as the party leader. The decision to expel Panneerselvam from the party also stands. The symbol of ‘two leaves’ is with Edappadi Palaniswami.

As a party, the AIADMK is no longer as prone to factionalism and indecision as it was earlier. Panneerselvam had played the role of a minor irritant in the Erode East by-polls, but Thursday’s court verdict nullified the effect. Win or lose, Palaniswami’s AIADMK isn’t frozen like a deer in the headlights, but it took six years for the party to shed the burden and emerge as one (even as Panneerselvam will keep causing trouble in one way or the other). .

This is where the legacies of Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa differ the most. Where his lies are unblemished, he is married to the rudderless ship of his party.

Succession planning is lacking in all aspects of Jayalalithaa’s leadership. But he said something – “even after I [my death], this party will survive for 100 years”. It would have been strange for Karunanidhi to make such a statement because the party was born out of a political movement that raised important questions in favor of the oppressed, the downtrodden and the downtrodden. It will live as long as these questions remain relevant.

For the AIADMK, there is no greater moral purpose than to militantly oppose the DMK. As it happens, Palaniswami has fought the besieging threads of internal factionalism. Now what awaits them on the field, DMK in full force. Does he act like Jayalita is a moot point

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