CHENNAI: After the demise of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the party for the first time since its inception finds itself without a charismatic leader who can be relied on for people’s consistent backing.
When matinee idol MGR formed the party in 1972, it was looked down as a party relying on the film popularity of its leader and its organisation was perceived to be weaker than the DMK. The AIADMK founder was portrayed as an actor unaware of the Dravidian movement’s ideological moorings and no commitment towards it.
But, the DMK with its ideological rhetoric and organisation built for three decades lost to MGR’s chairma, prompting DMK leader M. Karunanidhi to blame his defeat on ‘cinema maayai’ (film attraction). But, MGR’s clout among the masses kept him in power for three consecutive terms, till he died in 1987.
Jayalalithaa took over from MGR left as people identified her as close to MGR through her appearance along with their ‘Puratchi Thalaivar’ in most of the box office hits. After a brief interval of intra-party feud, the AIADMK bounced back to power.
MGR’s politics despite his tendency to mingle freely with party colleagues and people was described as one-man show. He was described as the numeral one and the leaders as zeros behind the one.
It was said any zero which tries to get before number one will have no value. After Jayalalithaa took over the mantle, the entire party was about Amma and nothing else. By projecting her image, the AIADMK was able to come to power for four terms.
Political analysts do not see immediate threat to the AIADMK government due to the smooth power transition. But, a poor performance of the government could bring down its strength, they feel.
Political commentator ‘Aazhi’ Senthilnathan said “Right now the party appears united and disciplined. The Assembly elections are four years away and there is no immediate threat to the government. But, a poor performance by its government could result in rejection by the people and weakening of the outfit”.
But, the party for the first time in its existence does not have a leader with an aura around them now after Jayalalithaa’s death.
The second line of command is very weak since no one was allowed to portray his individual leadership qualities. Some of the leaders are known faces, but they are not popular faces with vote catching abilities.
The party has the advantage of being in government at the moment, but it needs a mass face to market its schemes and programmes. So far, every scheme of the government was named on Amma and the brand was utilised to reap rewards in elections.
Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam is known for keeping a low profile and the party faces the challenge of sustaining without a charismatic leader at the top. The party could face its first test in the local body elections next summer.
