AIADMK’s Existential Crisis: Can it Rise From The Ashes?
News 18The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is facing an existential crisis in Tamil Nadu. Edappadi K Palaniswami, who ruled Tamil Nadu for four years after Jayalalithaa, interestingly managed to retain the majority of AIADMK cadres, elected representatives, and, in particular, the famous two-leaves poll symbol. The eight or so Dravidian parties that have emerged in Tamil Nadu since 1967 appear united in their opposition to Hindutva and the BJP’s rise. However, the AIADMK’s estimated three crore members primarily want to defeat MK Stalin and the DMK through a more traditionally aggressive political strategy reminiscent of Jayalalithaa’s tactics. This exodus, evident after the 2021 state elections, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the recent Vikravandi Assembly by-election in July 2024, has plunged the AIADMK into an existential crisis.