AIADMK will have to emulate founders

CHENNAI: Chief Minister O Paneerselvam and Sasikala Natarajan will need a cohesive party to retain the support base nurtured by the late founder MGR, including Dalit and MBCs which Jayalalithaa managed to sustain.

“MGR identified Jayalalithaa has his successor, but she did not declare her successor though she identified Panneerselvam as a stand-in CM twice. But even in AIADMK’s mouthpiece Panneerselvam was never referred to as chief minister or former CM. So there is no possibility that people will accept him as Jayalailthaa’s political heir or support the party the way it did post-MGR,” said, Dalit outfit Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s Thol Thirumavalavan.

“AIADMK in its current form will have credibility if they continue welfare schemes announced for all communities. For example, MGR’s nutritious meal scheme, free footwear scheme, the creation of village administrative officers, and removing caste names helped him win the trust of the downtrodden.

If the AIADMK in its present form continues to give that push, they will certainly gain credibility among Dalits,” Thirumavalavan added.

Panneerselvam has thus far been the face of the dominant Thevar community spread across the southern belt of the state, which forms AIADMK’s backbone.

Although when Jayalalithaa was heading the party, she had taken some important decisions to give key posts to other communities, mainly the Dalits who constitute over 20% of TN’s population, in her absence questions are being raised about the intentions of inclusivity within the party.