The recent twists and turns in Tamil Nadu’s politics may have left pundits and laymen surprised. But these changes epitomise the old adage that politics makes strange bedfellows. Rivals have propped up the new dispensation after hitherto unthinkable combinations were attempted to stall the cinematic entry of C.J. Vijay into Fort St. George — the seat of the state government — resulting in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam facing yet another split down the middle. More than half of the party legislators voted for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government in the trust vote on Wednesday. This is not the first time that the AIADMK has faced such a situation since J. Jayalalithaa’s departure. In 2017, O. Panneerselvam and 11 other legislators had voted against the then AIADMK government of Edappadi K. Palaniswami, creating a similar situation. Mr Palaniswami did not seek their disqualification then, but the two rival factions fell out in 2022 and Mr Panneerselvam was expelled. This time, however, both factions —
Mr Palaniswami has 22 legislators and the group led by C.V. Shanmugam and S.P. Velumani is 25-strong — have moved the presiding officer of the assembly for the disqualification of the other, setting the stage for more theatre in the legislature. If seven more members join the dissidents, then the larger ‘breakaway faction’ can merge with the TVK under the anti-defection law and avoid disqualification. But these shenanigans could well chip away at the promise of a new kind of politics that Mr Vijay has pledged.
As of now, the new chief minister has shown himself to be open to evolving as the situation warrants; even going back on his decision to appoint his astrologer as officer on special duty after allies opposed this move. The TVK does not use the word, ‘Dravida’, in its name as do the other Dravidian parties: it is seen as a disruptor of the duopoly of the AIADMK the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. But Mr Vijay’s politics is situated within that space. The icons that the TVK uses in its banners include Periyar and B.R. Ambedkar, and its ideology is a mix of secular social justice with a dash of Tamil nationalism. With the AIADMK splintering and a segment possibly merging with the TVK, Mr Vijay is positioned to become the other pole of a repackaged version of Dravida politics that has kept the saffron brigade in check. However, Mr Vijay needs to be mindful of the malaise of defection denting the TVK’s — and his — image.