Chennai: The year 2016 which saw one of the closest Assembly election races has also become a period of transition for both the major parties, AIADMK and DMK, looking to bring new leaders to the top after the death of charismatic J. Jayalalithaa and ageing of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi.
The three decades of battle between the two leaders ended after the death of Jayalalithaa on December 5 and the party leaders preparing to elect her close friend V.K. Sasikala as the new general secretary.
From the beginning, the year witnessed hectic political activities, alliance formations and negotiations centred around actor Vijayakanth's DMDK. The race for netting Vijayakanth started in January with the DMK, BJP and PWA consisting of MDMK, VCK and Left parties.
The DMK, which was waiting for Vijayakanth, decided to draw the Congress into its alliance first and former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called on DMK chief M. Karunanidhi in February and announced a tie-up for the Assembly polls.
The crucial month of March began with numerous reports of DMK having clinched a deal with Vijayakanth. On March 8 and 9, there were dozens of reports about Vijayakanth meeting Karunanidhi to sign the pact. But, the actor on March 9 declared in a public meeting that anyone who accepted him as the CM candidate can join hands with him, effectively ending talks of DMK-DMDK alliance. Finally, on March 23, Vijayakanth joined hands with the PWA, considered the turning point of the polls, swinging the momentum away from the DMK to the AIADMK.
This year's polls was one of the closest fights in the state and the AIADMK beat its rival by a narrow margin of about one per cent votes, although it won 134 seats. The PWA was totally routed without getting a single seat and Vijayakanth himself was pushed to the third place. The PMK and BJP too did not pick up any seat.
AIADMK under J. Jayalalithaa created a record of defeating the DMK in successive elections after three decades. But, just four months after Jayalalithaa took over the reins, she was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 23.
October was a month of protests for the formation of Cauvery Management Board. The protests picked up momentum after the Centre itself opposed a Supreme Court verdict to form the CMB. However, it subsided after bypolls was announced to three seats-Aravakurichi, Thanjavur and Thirupparankundram. The AIADMK fought the bypolls with the party supremo in hospital and won the elections, despite decreased margins compared to previous bypolls.
But, the AIADMK suffered a huge setback with the death of its charismatic leader Jayalalithaa on December 5. Finance minister O. Panneerselvam was sworn in as Chief Minister, immediately after Jayalalithaa's death. The party leaders are appealing to Jayalalithaa's close friend V.K. Sasikala to take over the general secretary post and its general council meeting on January 29 is expected to formally pass resolutions to this effect.
Karunanidhi too was hospitalised a few times and he was not seen in public gatherings for about two months. The DMK's general council was postponed to next year due to Karunanidhi's ill health and the cadres and functionaries are anticipating the elevation of treasurer Stalin as the working president.
The year 2017 is likely to open with new leaders who will be out to prove their mettle and keep the mass base of the major Dravidian parties intact. Besides, other parties like the BJP, PMK, MDMK, VCK and Left, crushed between the mass appeal of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi are looking to expand their base.
