Chennai: On 10 October, 1972, actor-turned-politician MG Ramachandran (MGR) was formally expelled from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), at the time led by then Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi. Seven days later, MGR in took the Pandian Express to the temple city of Madurai and was mobbed by fans at Dindigul on the way. The matinee star took 10 hours to cover the one hour-journey from Dindigul to Madurai.
The journey to Madurai was significant for MGR, for it was there that he launched the political party Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) as a breakaway faction of the DMK. The party is today the main opposition to the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and wields huge influence in the state, having won a majority seven times in the assembly.
The ADMK’s first flag, a black and red one with a white lotus on it, was unfurled at the Jhansi Rani Park in Madurai on 17 October, 1972. It was later changed to red and black with DMK founder C.N. Annadurai’s image on it.
While the then DMK government did not give the newborn party permission to hold a public meeting, two days later, the ADMK’s first meeting was held in an area behind the Thiruparankundram hills in Madurai. Political analysts say there was a sea of humanity present to see the “puratchi nadigar” (revolutionary actor) who would soon be monikered as “puratchi thalaivar” (revolutionary leader). The event marked the beginning of a new era in Tamil Nadu politics. Four years later, MGR prefixed the All-India tag to the ADMK.
On 20 August, 2023, AIADMK cadres descended on Madurai again. This time around, to commemorate the party’s golden jubilee year with a conference — the first such since Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) became the undisputed general secretary of the AIADMK.
Madurai, often referred to as the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu, has over the decades become a mecca for several regional political parties that were launched from the city.
After the AIADMK in 1972, Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) was launched from the temple town in 2005, so were actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in 2018.
According to political analysts, parties trying to carve a space for themselves in Tamil Nadu kick-start their campaigns in Madurai and its neighbouring districts, including Virudhunagar, Theni, Sivaganga, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram — all of which comprise the state’s southern region.
Political analyst S. Annamalai told ThePrint, “There is a perception that a newly-launched party in Madurai tends to gain support in the southern region of Tamil Nadu.”
“For example, when the AIADMK was launched, the first MP for the party in Tamil Nadu was elected from Dindigul seat — K. Maya Thevar won the bye-election in 1973 that gave MGR the confidence to plunge deep into electoral politics, and the rest is history.”
A historically significant city for Tamils, Madurai was the capital of the second Pandya kingdom (until the middle of the 14th Century), and one of the five great epics of Tamil literature, the Silappatikaram, revolves around Madurai and the burning down of the city due to a curse.
The Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple, maali (jasmine) and jigarthanda (drink) are the symbols of Madurai, which is also referred to as ‘Thoonga Nagaram’, or the city that never sleeps.
Madurai Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the assembly segments of Melur, Madurai East, North, South, Central and West.
Since 1999, the constituency has been represented thrice by the CPI(M) and once each by the DMK and the AIADMK. The sitting MP from Madurai is S. Venkatesan of the CPI(M), an ally of the ruling DMK.
“The route to Fort St George (Tamil Nadu Secretariat) for any political party is from the southern region in Tamil Nadu. You win here, you form a government,” said political analyst J.V.C. Sreeram.
Voter dynamics in southern Tamil Nadu
In August, southern Tamil Nadu witnessed a flurry of political activity, such as BJP state chief K. Annamalai’s ‘En Mann, En Makkal’ yatra, AIADMK’s golden jubilee conference, a hunger strike by AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran and (expelled AIADMK leader) O. Panneerselvam’s joint protest demanding speedy investigation into the Kodanad case, besides CM M.K. Stalin’s visit to Ramanathapuram to address the concerns of fishermen.
Talking about the region, S. Annamalai told ThePrint that southern Tamil Nadu has given the state six chief ministers.
In 1936, P.T. Rajan, the grandfather of Tamil Nadu minister Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, became the chief minister of Madras Presidency (an administrative division in British India that comprised almost all of Tamil Nadu). He came from Theni district.
Then, in 1949, Kumaraswamy Raja, who came from Virudhunagar, became chief minister of Madras Province, and in 1950 the chief minister of Madras state (now Tamil Nadu).
In 1954, K. Kamaraj, born in Virudhunagar, became the chief minister, while MGR assumed the office in 1977 after contesting and winning from the southern districts.
O. Panneerselvam (OPS) was in 2001 elected MLA from Periyakulam in Theni district, and became Tamil Nadu chief minister in 2014 and then again in 2016 following the death of long-time AIADMK leader and six-time CM J. Jayalalithaa, who herself was elected to the state legislative assembly from Andipatti constituency, among others, in Theni.
For the AIADMK, Madurai is like a holy ground. “MGR got started from there and in many ways, people see the city as lucky for entry into politics,” political analyst Sumanth C. Raman told ThePrint.
The southern region of Tamil Nadu accounts for at least 60 of the state’s 234 assembly seats and the AIADMK enjoyed influence in a majority of these seats till the demise of Jayalalithaa, he added.
“Southern Tamil Nadu has major castes like Mukkulathor, Nadar and Devendrakula Velalar who want to be regrouped from Scheduled Caste (Dalits) category to Other Backward Classes or OBC category,” said Raman. The Mukkulathor, collectively known as Thevar caste, comprises Maravar, Kallar and Agamudayar castes.
Raman further explained that the southern region also has a sizable minority community, such as the Christian population in Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, and Tirunelveli, and a prominent Muslim population in Ramanathapuram. According to political analysts, political parties in the state have a complex game to play as those who don’t get minority votes will have to woo the majority castes to emerge victorious. “In Tamil Nadu, 20-25 per cent of votes are based on caste identity. Although the Dravidian parties, particularly the DMK, say there is no caste-based voting in the state — it is very much there,” explained Sreeram.
Divisions within AIADMK & Thevar vote
Struggling with factionalism since Jayalalithaa’s death, the AIADMK at its golden jubilee conference in Madurai on 20 August put up a massive show of strength in the temple town, sending the message that its cadres had accepted EPS as their leader.
Speaking to ThePrint, AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said, “This conference was meant to counter the allegations that the AIADMK had split into multiple parts. A fitting response was given in Madurai.” However, a senior AIADMK leader said on condition of anonymity the party “at present, has seen an extensive caste-based division”.
“A prominent Gounder (caste) leadership has emerged and they are backing EPS. Down south, we have to showcase that we are strong as ever,” he explained, adding that “the necessity is also to snub the claim that the Thevars have mobilised against the party”.
“We also have to counter the BJP, which has been working hard to make inroads down south,” he added.
Till the time Jayalalithaa was alive, the Thevar community had backed the AIADMK, but in 2021, the party could win only 16 of the approximately 60 seats it contested in southern Tamil Nadu, political analysts pointed out.
They attributed multiple reasons for this — the ousting of AIADMK’s Thevar leaders V.K. Sasikala and Dhinakaran, side-lining of OPS, another Thevar, and the AIADMK government in February 2021 unanimously passing a bill providing 10.5 percent reservation to the Vanniyar community in the 20 per cent quota for the Most Backward Classes.
The reservation was later struck down by the Madras HC and the Supreme Court.
Since being ousted from the AIADMK, OPS has also been trying to consolidate his influence within his community and southern Tamil Nadu, with the joint protest for speedy investigation into the Kodanad case being one such instance.
A close aide of OPS who did not want to be named told ThePrint, “OPS is likely to start a campaign in southern Tamil Nadu to increase his supporter base.”
The AIADMK under EPS has, meanwhile, been trying to appease the Thevar vote-bank. It has handed over the post of treasurer to Thevar leader Dindigul Srinivasan and of deputy leader of the Opposition in the state assembly to another Thevar, R.B. Udhayakumar.
Also Read: The ‘torn sari’ that shaped Amma — what happened to Jayalalithaa in TN assembly on 25 March, 1989
Support for DMK in southern Tamil Nadu
While southern Tamil Nadu did support the AIADMK in most elections, there are a few instances when the people of this region voted differently.
The DMK did relatively well in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the assembly polls in 2021. In 2019, the DMK and its alliance partners won 38 of 39 Lok Sabha seats, while in the assembly polls, they won 44 of the nearly 60 seats in southern Tamil Nadu.
“Many Thevars and the Nadar caste in the region have been traditionally voting for the Congress and the DMK. Voting patterns have also been dictated by the performance of political parties in fulfilling people’s aspirations,” S. Annamalai said.
He termed the AIADMK’s governance is seen as “more welfare-oriented”, while that of the DMK is perceived as “development schemes-oriented”.
As far as vote-banks were concerned, though the DMK too has its share of Thevar votes, it is more dependent on Dalits — including from the Parayar, Pallar and Arunthathiyar caste groups — for victory, according to political analysts.
The Pallar constitute 17 percent of the total 20 percent SC population in Tamil Nadu, according to the 2011 Census. A significant chunk of the DMK’s vote-share also comes from minority communities like the Christians and Muslims.
The DMK was able to break the AIADMK’s votes in southern Tamil Nadu when Karunanidhi’s elder son son M.K. Alagiri, who was based out of Madurai, was made organisational secretary of the party in 2009.
But this lasted only till 2014, when he was expelled from the DMK, said political analysts.
According to Raman, “DMK thought Alagiri could be groomed for building a party base and strengthening the DMK in the south, but he was not content to play second fiddle to Stalin.”
BJP making inroads
According to Sreeram, the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, has been growing as a sub-regional player in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and has developed a good presence in the Kongo (western) region of the state.
“The party’s attempt to make inroads into the southern region began more than 10 years ago when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat,” said S. Annamalai.
Tamil Nadu has a significant Saurashtrian community, particularly in the Madurai region.
S. Annamalai recalled that “Modi had participated in an event of the Saurashtra community-run college in Madurai and huge cut-outs were erected hailing him as ‘our CM’”.
“Traditionally, there has been support for the BJP and (its ideological parent) RSS from the Saurashtra community in Madurai because they lent them some identity in a place where they felt like aliens,” he said, adding that the Saurashtra community in Madurai had even backed the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (to which the BJP traces its roots).
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam: Why BJP’s taking 3,000 TN residents on trip to Modi home state Gujarat