Chennai: On 14 December, the cadre of Tamil actor-politician ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) were in for a huge surprise.
At the DMDK’s 18th executive and general council meeting held that day, the ailing 71-year-old leader announced that his wife and DMDK treasurer Premalatha would be the party’s new general secretary — its most powerful position.
The hasty change in leadership drew mixed reactions from the DMDK cadre and critics. Even though the last decade or so has seen Premalatha — popularly known as anni, or sister-in-law, within the party — becoming more and more involved in the DMDK’s affairs, critics wonder at the manner in which the party reins were handed to her.
The move has also led to further questions over the state of Vijayakanth’s health. The actor-politician, who has been battling health problems since 2009, was reportedly hospitalised last month following severe cold symptoms and had been discharged just days before.
At the meeting, the once majestic-looking actor and DMDK patriarch looked frail in a white shirt and veshti, seemingly needing support even while sitting in a wheelchair. When the announcement was made, Premalatha, clad in a yellow saree with DMDK’s colours (yellow, red, and black) on its borders, stood up and touched her husband’s feet.
“Have you seen any party here where the general secretary is changed when the party leader is alive?” a former DMDK leader who didn’t want to be named asked while speaking to ThePrint. This leader said he had been associated with Vijayakanth since the late 80s.
“The AIADMK had amma (former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa) as the chief of the party till she passed away,” he further said. “In the DMK, Stalin became the party head only after Karunanidhi died. What is the hurry here?”
Political observers believe the transfer was aimed at bringing the Dravidian party back into the limelight in time for next year’s general elections. But they also question whether the party has a future in the post-Vijayakanth era.
“The party was handed over to Premalatha like it was family property. There is no DMDK without Captain, and the future for it is bleak. Premalatha looks like she is doing political business,” political analyst Priyan Srinivasan told ThePrint.
However, senior DMDK leaders see this change as a much-anticipated move. “Three years ago, we had suggested to our leader (Vijaykanth) that anni be made the general secretary. Captain has been unwell for some time now and though anni had been taking care of the affairs of the party, now we decided it’s time she takes charge,” said former DMDK MLA and current deputy general secretary B. Parthasarathy told ThePrint.
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DMDK’s new general secretary
Soon after donning the party’s mantle, the 54-year-old Premalatha announced that her party should focus on not just repeating the DMDK’s 2011 success but also ensuring that Vijayakanth is made the state’s chief minister in 2026.
In 2011, DMDK won 29 seats — six more than the 23 seats won by the DMK. This made it the second-largest party after its then ally, the AIADMK, which won 150 of the assembly’s 234 seats.
Although Premalatha, who married Vijayakanth in 1990, had actively campaigned for her husband during the Tamil Nadu assembly election in 2006, it wasn’t until 2009 that she began to play a more active role in the party, according to DMDK leaders.
“Anni has been working closely with the party since its inception. She has campaigned for all elections, whether Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, since 2005. She has political understanding and experience. Now that our leader (Vijayakanth) needs some rest and when we see who else can take up this responsibility, our choice is anni. And she is worthy of taking up the leadership role,” Parthasarathy, quoted earlier, said.
In 2014, the DMDK allied with the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to contest the general election. Although the party failed to win any of the 14 seats it contested, it was reportedly the only one in the seven-party NDA alliance that had campaigned in all of Tamil Nadu’s 39 assembly seats.
Premalatha and her brother L.K Sudhish were believed to be the primary drivers of the campaign. These efforts showed — at the NDA meeting in Parliament’s Central Hall, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked her for her work. “Kya kaam kiya isne (What great work she did),” he said.
According to political analyst Priyan, the demise of Vijayakanth’s close confidant Ramu Vasanthan also led to the “family’s (Premalatha’s and Sudhish’s) influence increasing on Vijayakanth.”
Vasanthan, who died in 2009, ran the actor-politican’s fan club and eventually, his party.
DMDK deputy general secretary Parthasarthy described the new general secretary as “politically experienced, brave, frank and forthcoming”.
“If she thinks something wrong, she will immediately voice it,” he said, adding that the leader “is focussed on women’s issues, motivating them to step up and join politics”.
A former DMDK leader called her “a well-educated woman who speaks good English and campaigned well for Captain (in 2006)”.
“After Captain won the Virudhachalam assembly seat, he used to ask her to visit the constituency and address issues. She used to go there once every few months and would help resolve the public concerns by speaking to the concerned officials,” he told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
But despite this, this former leader believes that making her the party chief is a “mockery”.
“Her advice to Captain to just look at the financial gains (in politics) has left the party in the present situation it is in. Even now, this drama of bringing up an ill Captain on stage is with the motive of making some money in the upcoming polls during alliance talk,” he claimed.
The rise and fall of DMDK
When Vijayakanth floated the DMDK in 2005, he called it an “alternative” to the two dominant Dravidian parties, the DMK and the AIADMK. The actor, whose films usually carried a social message and whose charity work in the state had earned him the moniker ‘Karuppu MGR (Black MGR, referring to AIADMK founder, popular actor, and former Tamil Nadu CM M.G. Ramachandran)’, had said at the party’s launch that his alliance would be with “the people of Tamil Nadu and God”.
Although the party could only win one seat — Virudhachalam, where Vijayakanth fought — it managed to make waves and secured 8.4 percent votes.
“During his campaigns in north Tamil Nadu, both Vanniyars and Dalits welcomed him. Similarly, down south, he had the support of both Devendra Kula Vellalar and Mudukulathur. People from different castes voted for him as they saw in him a sincerity and wanted to give him a chance,” political analyst Priyan, quoted earlier, said.
Despite its promising start, the party did poorly in the 2009 general election, losing all 39 parliamentary seats although polling 10.1 percent votes.
In 2011, the party allied with the AIADMK to win 29 of the 40 seats it contested. But the AIADMK’s sweep of 150 of the assembly’s 234 seats meant that the party required no coalition parties. The DMDK then opted to be the principal opposition party in the state.
However, the fortunes of Vijayakanth’s party took a downturn soon after. Months after they fought the election together, DMDK took on then chief minister and AIADMK’s powerful supremo J. Jayalalithaa. On 1 February, 2012, after a particularly fiery exchange between the ruling and opposition parties led to the eviction of several DMDK leaders — including Vijayakanth himself — Jayalalithaa remarked: “Their good times are over.”
Her words were prophetic. By February 2014, nine DMDK MLAs had jumped ship to join the AIADMK, bringing down the party’s numbers to 20.
According to political analyst J.V.C Sreeram, Vijayakanth should not have taken on Jayalalithaa so soon after the 2011 victory.
“In the 2014 (general election), DMDK was the leading party in NDA and contested 14 seats, but it didn’t win a single seat. His (Vijayakanth’s) taking Jayalalithaa head-on had led to his popularity falling,” he said.
The DMDK has never been able to revive itself since. In the 2016 assembly election, the party allied with Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M). That alliance — called People’s Welfare Front (PWF) — performed dismally, and DMDK lost its state party status.
In 2019, the party once again joined the NDA fold with the BJP, the AIADMK, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar). The DMK alliance swept that election, winning 38 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 parliamentary seats.
The DMDK also unsuccessfully contested the 2021 assembly polls in alliance with T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.
‘Jayalalithaa, my role model’
In her speech on 14 December, Premalatha had words of praise for Jayalalithaa, saying she saw the late AIAMDK supremo as her “role model”. In the same speech, Premalatha had accused the MLAs who had switched loyalties to the AIADMK of “backstabbing Vijayakanth” and blamed them for his deteriorating health.
According to the former DMDK leader quoted earlier, Premalatha has always been impressed by women politicians of her time — Jayalalithaa, Sushma Swaraj, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, and Kanimozhi.
“She wanted to test the waters too. But Captain did not want her to be involved in active politics,” this leader said, adding it was only when Vijayakant began facing health issues around 2009 that she got actively involved.
But political analyst Priyan believes the speech was an example of Premalatha’s political naivety, especially given the relationship the two parties had.
“Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK had poached DMDK MLAs and while Premalatha blames the MLAs for Vijayakanth’s health deteriorating, isn’t Jayalalithaa behind the MLAs horse trading?” he asked.
Another former DMDK leader blamed Premalatha for the party’s “poor decision to join the NDA instead of the DMK in 2016”.
“Captain had gone and met DMK leaders and a decision was made to join DMK, but overnight it changed and the next morning alliance with the BJP was announced. This led to several senior DMDK members feeling betrayed and quitting the party,” this former leader told ThePrint.
But party leaders such as Parthasarthy continue to defend her. “Only she can fill the political vacuum that Jayalalithaa has left behind,” he said.
‘Tough road ahead’
During its executive and general council meeting on 14 December, the party adopted an 18-point resolution that included urging the DMK government to give Rs 10 lakh as compensation to those killed in Cyclone Michaung and setting up an insurance scheme to protect the marginalised in case of natural diasters.
Premalatha also announced that her party was open to alliance talks for 2024. “Give us in writing that you will give us a Rajya Sabha seat and the constituencies we ask for,” she said.
Despite these words, however, political observers see a difficult road ahead for the party. The party has some major challenges to contend with, such as deciding on a strategy to become politically relevant again all the while holding on to its cadres and generating funds to keep it afloat, they said.
According to J.V.C Sreeram, quoted earlier, the DMDK “has now gone from 8.38 percent vote share party to a 0.5-1 percent party”.
“(Filmmaker Senthamizhan) Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi got close to 7 percent vote share in the 2021 polls, and the BJP has also increased its presence in the state,” he told ThePrint. “Now the only way for the DMDK to become relevant again is to forge an alliance with another party.”
The DMK, he said, “is already full and has no space for another ally”.
He added: “An alliance with NDA or AIADMK is an option. The NDA will be more practical as there is a PM face, that could be a way Premalatha can revive the party.”
But the political analyst also believes that for a party that’s neither cadre-based nor leader-based, making the demands the new general secretary had made won’t yield results.
Instead, she should focus on how to optimise the one percent vote share they have, he said.
“The DMDK was an out-and-out fan club-based party formed due to the charisma of Vijayakanth, who does not have political acumen. Premalatha too does not have a political background,” Sreeram said. “If they put conditions like this, they won’t be able to take off.”
But this is easier said than done. According to Priyan, the DMDK’s current state throws its very purpose — an alternative to the DMK and the AIADMK — into question.
“Premalatha can have the party, could contest a few seats, and even gain the financial support of the bigger party. But one has to understand the vote bank has changed,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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