In politics, unintentional leaders finally fade away after hogging the limelight within the positions to which they had been catapulted by circumstances or by their masters. Only a number of handle to vary the tide of their favour or outwit their political handlers.
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami belongs to that breed of politicians who emerge from relative obscurity and seize alternatives to checkmate opponents by making the fitting strikes on the political chessboard. Starting off from the decrease rung, he has taken over as basic secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a celebration that had dominated the State for over 30 years. Ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2024, this position places him within the driver’s seat of an AIADMK-led alliance, which can seemingly embrace the Bharatiya Janata Party.
His rise was sluggish and regular for a lot of his political profession, however accelerated in recent times by a component of impatience and an uncanny means to ruthlessly neutralise opponents.
In 1989, at 35, he debuted within the Legislative Assembly together with his chief Jayalalithaa, then heading a faction of the AIADMK after the loss of life of get together founder M.G. Ramachandran (MGR). The title of his constituency, “Edappadi”, bought prefixed to his title. He served briefly within the Lok Sabha (1998-99), earlier than becoming a member of Jayalalithaa’s Cabinet in 2011. Yet, Mr. Palaniswami largely remained an inconsequential political determine outdoors his native turf in western Tamil Nadu. There was nothing noteworthy in regards to the efficiency of this jaggery trader-turned-politician within the Assembly or Parliament.
As a Minister holding the meatier portfolios of Highways and Public Works Department (PWD) and ranked throughout the prime 5 within the Cabinet seniority order, he most popular to be reverent to Jayalalithaa. Till her loss of life in December 2016, he remained out of media limelight as had been most Cabinet colleagues. There had been whispers in political corridors about him being one amongst Jayalalithaa’s kitchen cupboard members. In the get together hierarchy, he was not outstanding, although Jayalalithaa appointed him propaganda secretary, a submit created by MGR for her within the early Eighties, and later an organising secretary.
Household title
It was solely on Valentine’s Day in 2017, when he met Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao staking declare to kind the federal government, that Mr. Palaniswami grew to become a family title in Tamil Nadu. However, the one notion individuals had was that of Mr. Palaniswami being a protégé of V.Ok. Sasikala, an extra-constitutional authority and former shut aide of Jayalalithaa. People cringed at visuals of him crawling and prostrating to hunt her blessings. What nobody guessed was that the country man, with a tinge of holy ash smeared on his brow and a toothy smile that may change into his trademark, had stooped to overcome.
The circumstances underneath which he emerged as Chief Minister-designate had been tumultuous. Ms. Sasikala had deliberate to step into her “surrogate sister” Jayalalithaa’s position after getting O. Panneerselvam, hand-picked by her to be a “remote-controlled Chief Minister”, to resign. Misguided by some exterior handlers, he revolted. She confronted one other setback when the Supreme Court convicted her in a corruption case wherein Jayalalithaa was the prime accused.
With a majority of the AIADMK legislators herded collectively in a backwater resort to stop defections to the Panneerselvam camp, Mr. Palaniswami, regarded by Ms. Sasikala as a loyalist, made the fitting strikes. With the backing of his Gounder neighborhood, which had a big bloc of MLAs, he opened up mandatory sources to get extra assist. Given the precarious numbers within the Assembly, many believed Mr. Palaniswami might not final his tenure. But they had been but to see his survival instincts.
Before Ms. Sasikala headed to the Bengaluru jail, in an surprising transfer, she appointed her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who had been expelled by Jayalalithaa, because the AIADMK deputy basic secretary. The former MP determined to contest the bypoll within the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in Chennai, vacated by Jayalalithaa.
Mr. Palaniswami, a born politician, shortly sensed it won’t be lengthy earlier than Mr. Dhinakaran got here for his Chief Ministerial seat. Cognisant that he was no mass chief, he did what it took to earn the arrogance of his Cabinet colleagues and legislators. He introduced them with a selection — be subservient to the Sasikala household and survive on their benevolence; or stand by his facet and benefit from the fruits of energy. The Sasikala household was quickly remoted. Thereafter, Mr. Palaniswami quelled a insurrection from 19 legislators supporting Mr. Dhinakaran, by extending an olive department to Mr. Panneerselvam and his 10 MLAs to save lots of the federal government. The AIADMK migrated to a twin management with Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami having fun with equal powers as coordinator and joint coordinator.
Mr. Panneerselvam, a three-time former Chief Minister, appeared content material together with his rehabilitation as Deputy Chief Minister within the Cabinet. But Mr. Palaniswami was quietly doing all the pieces to maintain legislators and get together functionaries pleased and consolidating his maintain on the get together. This helped him foil Mr. Panneerselvam’s bid to be the get together’s Chief Ministerial face in 2021.
Blessing in disguise
As an administrator, he was initially seen as weak and doing the bidding of the Narendra Modi authorities on the Centre. This partly led to the AIADMK alliance’s crushing defeat within the 2019 Lok Sabha election. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he appeared clueless, calling it solely a “rich man’s disease”. However, the identical pandemic proved a blessing in disguise for Mr. Palaniswami to stabilise his administrative place. After greedy the state of affairs, he toured Tamil Nadu overseeing measures to comprise the unfold of the an infection. He started to confidently deal with questions from journalists, taking him nearer to the individuals who watched him on information channels. Over time, he would tackle conferences with out speech notes.
Eventually, Mr. Palaniswami managed to provide the DMK-led entrance a tricky combat and his alliance received 75 seats – many from western Tamil Nadu – within the 234-member House. But he grew cautious of the AIADMK’s twin management. Mr. Panneerselvam, who had fewer supporters within the get together’s basic council, was utilizing his co-signatory powers to extract disproportionate advantages in issues of election ticket distribution. So, final July, Mr. Palaniswami sprang a shock on Mr. Panneerselvam by getting his supporters to push for migrating to a unitary management. It was a political combat, which a miserably outnumbered Panneerselvam transformed right into a authorized combat. It led to Mr. Panneerselvam and his supporters being expelled. With a single decide of the Madras High Court clearing the decks, Mr. Palaniswami has taken over as the overall secretary, incomes the acknowledgement of alliance get together leaders. Mr. Panneerselvam has gone to enchantment earlier than a Division Bench.
There is little doubt that Mr. Palaniswami would have the final snicker on this matter. However, the problem has simply begun for him. His efficiency because the Leader of Opposition has been lacklustre. To survive in the long run, he must proactively tackle the ruling DMK and win battles on the electoral entrance. The Lok Sabha polls are only a 12 months away and he has to ship to maintain the flock collectively.
