PMK poised to make another killing in TN

VITAL FACTOR-II

As a caste, the Vanniars clawed their way into the consciousness of Tamil Nadu politics in the mid-1990s when the founder of the Vanniar Sangham, K Ramdoss, converted into a political party, what was a caste-based group dedicated to winning the most backward classes (MBC) status for itself thus qualifying for reservation.

The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) fought its first Assembly elections in 1991 and its first Lok Sabha elections in 1989.

Since then, its appeal, which is almost caste-based, has grown by leaps and bounds, though being limited to the Cuddalore, Vellore, Tiruchirappalli, Salem and Thanjavur districts in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu.

Although Vanniars are one-third of the population in the northern districts, the PMK support base has not crossed 10 per cent.

But this is enough to make the difference between victory and defeat for the DMK and the AIADMK in nearly 60 Assembly constituencies and 10 parliamentary constituencies. The PMK derives its advantage as an ally from this situation.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the PMK contested seven seats in Tamil Nadu and won five. It got 8.21 per cent of the total vote. In the Assembly elections held in 2001, it contested 27 seats and won 20.

In many seats it displaced the DMK. In some, it defeated the AIADMK. The PMK fought a focused, concentrated campaign.

Ramdoss has never contested himself and his nickname "Ayya" in areas where the PMK is strong suggests a party that is dominated by one central figure, having an organic relationship with every legislator and member of Parliament, individually.

This might have been the reason for several veteran leaders""like Panruti Ramach-andran, and his former general secretary, Dheeran""to walk out of the party on the grounds that it was undemocratic.

Be that as it may, if political growth is a function of risk-taking, Ramdoss has led his party through several risky ventures and has been rewarded with political growth.

In north Tamil Nadu, the landscape is divided between the DMK in urban areas and the PMK in rural areas.

Together they have managed to edge out the AIADMK even from constituencies where, earlier, the AIADMK has a record of getting 52 to 55 per cent of the vote.

Parenthetically, this threat could be the reason for Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to float the Hindu card, which is calculated to subsume the caste identity by a bigger Hindu identity.

The PMK along with the DMK is poised to make another killing this time, which is why, recently the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district units in north Tamil Nadu told visiting central leaders that the break-up from the DMK was not good for the BJP's growth.

In aligning with backward parties like the PMK, some of the credit for taking the backward cause ahead would have rubbed off on the BJP as a long-term mobilisation strategy. This will not happen now.