Chennai: In southern Tamil Nadu, where caste and politics mix like salt and water, this year’s Thevar Guru Pooja at Pasumpon wasn’t just about reverence, it was a show of power. With both Dravidian majors invoking Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar’s legacy, the annual ritual has come to be known as a litmus test of who can command the southern vote bank that may very well decide the outcome of the assembly elections next year.
With major players rallying to Pasumpon every year, political analysts see it as a desperate attempt to woo the Mukkulathor (an umbrella term used to refer to Kallars, Maravars and Agamudaiyar) voters. “The South has stopped being a guarantee for any party. After the death of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa and the subsequent divisions in the party unit, the southern region has become a competitive place for political parties, and whoever is able to gain the support of the Thevars among other communities will be able to gain. (That) is what it has proved all along,” political analyst N. Sathiya Moorthy told ThePrint.
On 30 October, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) invoked freedom fighter and Mukkulathor community’s icon Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar to reaffirm allegiance to the region.
Stalin endorsed AIADMK’s demand to award the Bharat Ratna to Thevar. He also declared that a wedding hall would be built at a cost of Rs 3 crore in Thevar’s name at Pasumpon. “Thevar Ayya’s ideals of equality and self-respect are values that transcend communities. His courage belongs to all Tamils,” the DMK chief said.
A few hours earlier, EPS stood at the very same site, urging ally BJP to recognise Thevar’s contribution to India’s freedom movement. “He was a nationalist and a social reformer whose ideals inspired generations. He deserves the highest civilian honour,” EPS said.
According to political analyst Professor Arun Kumar, this year’s Thevar Jayanthi was not just a day of homage, but a prelude to the 2026 assembly elections. “Both parties understand that the Thevar-dominated southern belt including Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari is crucial for a simple majority. Hence, getting the support of people in the southern districts is crucial for both political parties to have an edge in the assembly election.”
Together, all 10 districts in southern Tamil Nadu account for 58 assembly seats. In the 2021 elections, DMK won 40 and AIADMK the remaining 18 seats—a reversal of fortunes since 2016, when AIADMK won 33 seats, and DMK 25 in the southern region.
Also read: EPS caught in political bind after reviving demand to rename Madurai airport after Thevar icon
Battle for the south
Thevar Jayanti, held annually at Pasumpon, has evolved from a community gathering into a political spectacle. Over the years, leaders from across the spectrum, from the DMK and AIADMK to the BJP and the Congress, have all lined up to pay homage.
According to analysts, for AIADMK, erosion of the Thevar vote base has been symbolic.
“The Thevar community, which forms a significant share of the electorate in these districts, had long identified with the party since the days of M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK’s traditional strength came from the south because the Thevar identity was deeply linked to MGR’s populism and Jayalalithaa’s leadership,” said N. Sathiya Moorthy.
The decision to mark Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Jayanthi as a government event was taken during MGR’s tenure in 1979. It helped AIADMK solidify support among Thevars.
Later, in 2014, then AIADMK supremo and chief minister J. Jayalalithaa presented a 13-kg gold kavasam (armour) to Thevar’s statue at Pasumpon.
DMK, on the other hand, has been trying to pull the Thevar community to its side for decades. The results were evident in 2021 assembly elections, as well as in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu won all southern seats.
“DMK’s outreach to the Thevar community year after year reinforces that the community’s influence remains pivotal across southern Tamil Nadu,” said Professor Arun Kumar.
He, however, also added that the Thevar community alone does not decide electoral outcomes. “Thevars alone may not decide an election, but their alignment determines whether southern Tamil Nadu leans Dravidian Left or not. That’s why every symbolic gesture at Pasumpon carries the weight of strategy,” he said.
For the AIADMK, the challenge lies in reasserting its caste identity base, while also appearing inclusive. EPS, himself from the western Gounder community, has tried to overcome perceptions of imbalance by giving prominence to his party’s former ministers from the Thevar community, R.B. Udhayakumar and Sellur Raju.
However, the party’s breakaway leaders O. Panneerselvam and AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, both from the Thevar community, are complicating the task.
“Even though EPS is trying hard with a demand to name Madurai Airport after Muthuramalinga Thevar and a demand to confer Bharat Ratna, people are not looking at him as a Mukkulathor leader. For long, OPS and TTV were seen as the Mukkulathor face of AIADMK and it would be hard for EPS to turn this,” Sathiya Moorthy said.
On the other hand, although DMK has managed to win a considerable number of seats in 2021 compared to 2016, open outreach to Thevars is not without risk for the party.
“The DMK’s symbolic embrace of Thevar legacy could alienate some of its Dalit supporters in southern districts. Balancing social justice with identity accommodation might be difficult when elections are near,” Arun Kumar said.
Why Thevars matter
The Mukkulathor—a cluster of Kallar, Maravars and Agamudaiyars—also referred to as Thevar community, are roughly estimated to be around 6-8 percent of the state’s population. However, they are largely concentrated in central and southern Tamil Nadu.
The community has been viewed as a significant vote block in the southern belt. However, political analyst and former head of Tamil department at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University A. Ramasamy says the Thevars might not always decide election results since their numerical share may not be a majority in any of the constituencies.
“But, their alignment and how they symbolically mobilise towards one party, is widely seen to influence which of the main Dravidian parties gains the upper hand in the region. It is not just for Thevar, it is common for any community. No single community can ensure a win in any of the constituencies in the state, but their allegiance gives a perspective shift.”
According to Ramasamy, “Although their education and economic conditions are negligible, they own a significant amount of land in the southern region and (it allows them to) dominate other landless castes in the region.” Historically, the Thevars were involved in rural leadership, agriculture, and local power networks. In the southern region there has also been a significant presence of other backward castes including Nadars, Vellalars, Naickers, and Scheduled Castes including Paraiyars and Devendra Kula Velalars.
Of the many backward castes in the south, Thevars enjoy more political power compared to others. It is also evident from the fact that in a 35-member cabinet, five ministers are from the Thevar community, while three are from the Nadar community.
Mukkulathor Pulipadai party leader Karunas said the AIADMK, post Jayalalithaa, lost the support of the Mukkulathor and members of the community now trust only DMK. Karunas was earlier part of the AIADMK-led alliance since 2016, but sided with DMK in 2021.
“Right from leadership issues to removing the Mukkulathor leaders from the party, everything is seen as going against the community and political leaders belonging to the community. So, for now, we are strongly supporting DMK,” Karunas told ThePrint.
But political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy cautions that the Thevar vote is no more concentrated with any one party. “It is true that the AIADMK has lost its support from the Thevar community, but it has not lost support completely. The support of the community is now scattered among all the parties including DMK, AIADMK and BJP. So, no one party can claim to have their support until we see the 2026 assembly election results.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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