Strong BJP or own insecurity? ADMK wonders as EPS missing in action

On the contrary, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was among the first to oppose the EWS quota, calling it contradictory to the very idea behind reservations. Tamil Nadu has among the highest total reservations in the country, with its social justice politics cutting across parties. Stalin also welcomed the release of the Rajiv convicts.

On both these issues, incidentally, the DMK stand was contrary to that of its ally, the Congress.

Senior AIADMK leaders close to EPS cite various reasons for his hesitance. A former minister in his cabinet says EPS might be safe for now, but he is not too secure about his position in the AIADMK, and hence wants to keep the BJP in good humour. A confidant adds that even the fact that the BJP has been more than kind towards him is causing EPS to be nervous, as there is still the sword of probe by central agencies hanging over his hand.

With rival O Panneerselvam still pursuing the fight for control of the AIADMK, EPS has a lot to prove both in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls of 2026. Since losing power last year, the AIADMK has posed no real challenge to the DMK.

Pointing out that EPS’s future will depend on what happens in 2026, the former minister says: “He doesn’t want to do anything that causes trouble to his CM candidature.”

An aide says that these days EPS’s routine includes spending most of his time at home meeting visitors; three days in Salem and four days in Chennai. Once every two weeks, he goes to the party offices in the two towns.

Elaborating on EPS’s dilemma, the former AIADMK minister recalls that the party had always opposed EWS quota in Parliament “to uphold the principles of our late leader J Jayalalithaa”. “But we were in a fix after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of it. EPS was in a dilemma as, while some veterans opposed the quota, he thought taking either stand would not help him in the long run.”

Similarly, in the case of the Rajiv convicts, AIADMK leaders said EPS refrained from gestures such as meeting them, as he had done in the case of A G Perarivalan last May. “Even though it was Jayalalithaa and EPS who had done their best for all the convicts rather than the DMK, EPS no longer gains anything from applauding or denouncing the release of the convicts. On one side, he risks BJP ire, on the other that of his supporters,” a senior leader says.

Among the only consequential statements made by EPS in recent time was the announcement of a “mega alliance” for 2024, without details.

This ceding of political space by EPS has, meanwhile, allowed Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai to emerge as the most aggressive Opposition voice in the state.

The former minister says, “The BJP is also winning because another ally, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) of S Ramadoss, is also not particularly critical of the DMK government. Meanwhile, Stalin has already begun booth-level preparations as the chief of the DMK.”

Recently, the CM had personally joined a few of these booth-level meetings online, while sending Cabinet colleagues to address others. “We should have been doing this before the DMK,” the ex-minister rues.

About the only issues on which EPS has been vocal are those concerning his arch rivals T T V Dhinakaran, the nephew of V K Sasikala, and OPS. He has been categorical that none of the three will find a place back in the AIADMK, where EPS is believed to have the loyalties of more than 90% of the party workers.

Incidentally, this is also the only issue on which EPS has chosen to defy the BJP, which has been keen that the AIADMK factions bury their hatchet and come together.