Tamil Nadu
PMK's Father–Son Feud: How Dynastic Politics Is Weakening NDA In Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu’s politics may have thrived on dynastic succession, but the PMK’s bitter father-son feud threatens to unravel the NDA’s fragile caste arithmetic.
The infighting in the PMK is a cause of worry for the AIADMK and the BJP.
One of the oft repeated criticisms of the opposition parties by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is that they are ‘dynastic’ or ‘family-based’. Nowhere does this hold truer than in Tamil Nadu, where it keeps hammering at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) with this point.
The latter, like many others, has however remained unfazed by the criticism. Ending months of speculation, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin elevated his son, Udhayanidhi, as deputy chief minister last September. It is now clear to one and all that Udhayanidhi is going to step into his father's shoes once the time comes.
But while the DMK saw a smooth dynastic succession, just nine months before the polls, an ugly feud is playing out between father and son in the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which represents the interests of Vanniyars, a large OBC community with a big presence in northern Tamil Nadu districts like Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Dharmapuri.
Forming about 12 to 15 per cent of the state’s population, they are key in determining the results of over 50 assembly constituencies, making the PMK an important player in the region.
The party stuck with the NDA in 2024, in spite of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) departure a year earlier.
This decision is said to have caused a lot of heartburn between the party patriarch, S. Ramadoss, and his son, Anbumani Ramadoss, the party president.
The Battle for the Mango: The Feud Till Now
While in the past, the party's mango symbol has been an issue of tussle with the Election Commission, this time around, it is the control of the party itself that has become the matter of dispute.
The PMK’s internal strife came out in the open in December 2024 when Ramadoss announced the appointment of his grandson P. Mukundan (son of his daughter Gandhimathi) as youth wing president, sparking objections from his son and party president Anbumani, who was seated beside him on the stage.
In April 2025, Ramadoss declared that he had removed his son as president, assuming the role himself and relegating Anbumani to ‘working president’.
Anbumani defied the move, claiming legitimacy from the party’s general council. This deepened the rift, with rival factions forming among the party’s district office-bearers.
Earlier this month, the dispute reached the Madras High Court, with a petition being filed to stop a general body meeting called by Anbumani. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, who heard the matter, tried to impress on the two to resolve it through mediation but his efforts did not pay off.
PMK Is Losing but NDA Is the Bigger Loser
While there is no doubt that the PMK stands to lose due to the dispute, it is however the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that is going to be the bigger loser.
In spite of all talk about the PMK being on a decline, it has managed to retain a concentrated vote share of 4 to 5 per cent. In an election like 2026 that is going to be fought very closely, every percentage point matters. One of the reasons the DMK coalition is formidable is that it has carved out an alliance that takes in almost everyone, even if the contribution of that partner is just one or two per cent.
How Does the PMK’s Presence Help the AIADMK-BJP Combine?
Having the PMK is an asset for the AIADMK-BJP as it gives the necessary push to these parties in the northern region of the state, where they are weak.
While the AIADMK and BJP too have Vanniyar support, PMK’s support means the caste vote can be consolidated.
One reason for that is the AIADMK government under Edappadi Palaniswami granted the community’s long-time demand for a 10.5 per cent internal quota within the Most Backward Class (MBC) grouping by passing a Government Order for the same. This was done at the fag end of his tenure and was later struck down.
The best example of the need for the three parties to be together is the result of the Lok Sabha election in Dharmapuri. Contesting without the AIADMK, the NDA secured the second position.
While the DMK candidate A. Mani secured 432,667 votes, the PMK candidate (Anbumani's wife, Soumya) secured 411,267 votes. Mani’s winning margin was 21,300, which is not much. The difference in vote percentage was 1.7 per cent. The third placed AIADMK received nearly three lakh votes.
In the Harur (SC) assembly segment, which was blamed for the loss of the PMK, the AIADMK secured more than the lead taken by the DMK. Even though it can be argued that the AIADMK may not have received as many votes in the segment if it had allied with the PMK, due to SC angst with the latter, the overall verdict would still have been different.
Coming at a time when the Thevar vote of the NDA has been affected due to the exit of former chief minister O. Panneerselvam, this is not good news as Vanniyars are an important dominant OBC group. There is no alternative caste group of similar size in the region that the AIADMK-BJP combine can attract. Scheduled Castes are present in good numbers but they are with the VCK-DMK or moving towards the TVK.
