In a significant political development in Tamil Nadu, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)’s founder S Ramadoss and his son and PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss clashed during the party’s general council meeting in Villupuram on Saturday.
The public sparring between the two top PMK leaders was fuelled by their disagreement over the appointment of Parasuraman Mukundan, son of Ramadoss’s elder daughter Gandhimathi, as the party’s youth wing chief, which brought the long-simmering tensions within its first family into the open.
The dramatic turn of events unfolded at the party conclave held at Pattanur, a village near Puducherry, in the presence of hundreds of party cadres and office-bearers. The meeting witnessed a war of words when Anbumani openly opposed Ramadoss’s declaration of Mukundan’s appointment from the stage, where the father-son duo were seated.
As Ramadoss named Mukundan as the PMK’s new youth wing head, saying he would “help” the party president, Anbumani shot back: “Help for me? I don’t need it. It’s been hardly four months since he joined the party. What experience does he have in politics? Appoint someone with experience.” There was silence when Ramadoss made the announcement but Anbumani’s remarks led to an an applause among the audience.
This drew an angry retort from Ramadoss. “Whoever it is, they should listen to me. Those who refuse to listen to me cannot continue in this party,” a visibly agitated Ramadoss said, his voice rising.
The 85-year-old PMK patriarch then sought to remind the party rank and file of his legacy. “This is the party I built. My decisions are final. Those who don’t agree can leave,” Ramadoss thundered, urging the attendees to clap for his grandson’s appointment. The applause that followed was reportedly “tepid”.
A defiant Anbumani dropped his microphone on to the table and announced his plan to open his new office in Panaiyur near Chennai. “PMK cadres can meet me there anytime,” he said, mounting further challenge to his father’s authority.
The PMK’s politics centres around the Vanniyar community, categorised among the Most Backward Classes (MBC), which accounts for a sizeable number of voters in northern Tamil Nadu and in some pockets of the state’s western parts.
An ally of the BJP-led NDA, the PMK has long grappled with accusations of dynastic politics. Ironically, it was Ramadoss himself who had once made a pledge to the party members that no member of his family would assume any leadership role – a promise that remained unfulfilled, even as Anbumani was elevated to the party president’s post in 2022.
Although Anbumani questioned his nephew Mukundan’s appointment citing his inexperience, the former was also catapulted by Ramadoss to prominent roles in similar ways. In 2004, when the PMK was an ally of the Congress-led UPA, he was inducted in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet as its youngest minister. He was even then a Rajya Sabha MP.
While Anbumani, 56, now finds himself at odds with the very system that ensured his meteoric rise, Mukundan’s appointment betrayed the concerns of Gandhimathi, who has been trying to secure her son’s place among the party brass in recent years. Mukundan’s father Parasuraman owns several educational institutions.
“She (Gandhimathi) demanded a party ticket in Cuddalore for her son in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” a senior PMK leader told The Indian Express. “Later, she asked for a seat in Vikravandi bypoll too. She wanted to secure a post for Mukundan while her father was still alive, fearing that Anbumani might not support such a move after Ramadoss’s period.”
The former PMK youth wing chief, Tamilkumaran, son of party leader G K Mani, had stepped down last year after falling out with Anbumani. Mukundan’s appointment now threatens to deepen internal rifts within the party, with loyalists on both sides preparing for a protracted power struggle. It would have major implications for the PMK as the party heads into the 2026 state Assembly elections.
Ramadoss’s speech at the party conclave also hinted that the PMK may review its alliance with the NDA. “Just because we committed a mistake, we need not repeat it. I will take care of alliance decisions. I will take a call next year, before 2026 Assembly polls. The alliance we support will form the government in 2026, we will have a share of power in the Cabinet, some of you sitting here will become ministers too,” he said.
As the meeting concluded in disarray, Ramadoss’s final words rang out: “This (Mukundan’s appointment) is my decision. Nobody can change it. If you don’t agree, nothing can be done. Those who cannot agree with my decision can leave…”
On his part, Anbumani’s focus has always been to consolidate the party’s power base and go solo in the polls, looking to project himself as a chief ministerial candidate.
Contesting the 2021 Assembly polls in alliance with the AIADMK and the BJP, the PMK had won just five seats. The party had not been able to open its account in the Lok Sabha polls since 2009.
The dramatic turn of events unfolded at the party conclave held at Pattanur, a village near Puducherry, in the presence of hundreds of party cadres and office-bearers. (Photo: X) 
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