Can OPS succeed where other AIADMK leaders who joined DMK failed?

Can former Chief Minister and expelled AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam, who is inching closer to the DMK, defy the trend of AIADMK leaders failing to make a mark after aligning themselves with the DMK?

The earliest case of a senior AIADMK leader turning a critic of the party was S.D. Somasundaram, who was Minister for Revenue, Commercial Taxes and Food in the Cabinet headed by M.G. Ramachandran during 1978-84, according to a perusal of materials available with The Hindu archives.

When he began openly accusing MGR of corruption, Somasundaram, also called SDS, was dismissed from the Cabinet and expelled from the AIADMK. In the 1984 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, he tried to strike a deal with the DMK, but the talks failed. SDS’ party, Namadhu Kazhagam, fielded candidates in 150 Assembly constituencies and 15 Lok Sabha constituencies, but its performance was disastrous. SDS himself lost the deposit in his home constituency of Pattukottai, from where he was elected in 1980 on the AIADMK ticket. In 1986, he returned to his parent party. After the Dravidian major’s defeat in 1996, SDS briefly aligned with rebels. Again, he led a party, Puratchi Thalaivar Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which merged with the AIADMK after his death in 2001.

S. Thirunavukkarasar [earlier known as S. Thirunavukkarasu], once a close aide of Jayalalithaa, fell out of favour with her on two occasions. Between 1988 and 1997, he was shown the door thrice. His expulsion in 1990 forced him to launch Anna Puratchi Thalaivar Tamizhaga Munnetra Kazhagam (APTTMK), with his colleagues including K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, now Revenue Minister with the DMK.

In the 1991 Assembly poll, the APTTMK tied up with the DMK and won two out of the nine seats it contested. Considering that the election took place against the backdrop of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the APTTMK’s performance was considered impressive. Mr. Thirunavukkarasar, currently with the Congress, later renamed his party as MGR ADMK. After a brief reunion with Jayalalithaa during 1996-97, he revived his party and contested the 1998 Lok Sabha election as an ally of the Congress. In the now-abolished Pudukottai constituency, he finished third but polled about 2.26 lakh votes with a vote share of 29.28%. The following year, he was part of the DMK-led front and bagged the seat. However, he could not run his party for long, and merged it with the BJP a few years later.

R.M. Veerappan, once a powerful Minister in the MGR Cabinet, found himself on the wrong side when he was in the AIADMK led by Jayalalithaa. During her first term as Chief Minister (1991-96), Veerappan was dropped from the Jayalalithaa Cabinet in September 1995 in the wake of a controversy over what the party regarded as his silence when actor Rajnikanth, in his presence, talked of the “bomb culture” in the State.

A veteran leader who was with the AIADMK says it is the party name and symbol that matter more than anything else, and this is why those who leave the party fade away.