The Wolf and the Sheep

The feud between O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami that is rupturing the AIADMK has all the makings of a Shakespearean drama, replete with betrayal, ambition and political exile.

Tamil Nadu

The ghosts of Tamil Nadu’s political past are not easily exorcised. The latest act in the ongoing saga of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is proof. Its general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), has drawn a firm line in the sand by shutting the doors on his former ally-turned-bitter rival, O. Panneerselvam (OPS), the former Chief Minister.

Now, as Tamil Nadu gears up for the 2026 Assembly polls, OPS has indicated his willingness to return with a caveat. He has insisted that the general secretary post, now held by EPS, be subject to cadre elections. But Palaniswami, wary of any challenge to his authority, has made it clear that he sees no room for reconciliation. In a letter to party workers, he posed a rhetorical question: “Can the wolf and the sheep co-exist?” The message was as clear as it was brutal: OPS is persona non grata.

This drama unfolds at a precarious time for the AIADMK. Once the unchallenged political behemoth of Tamil Nadu, its grip on the electorate has loosened significantly. With the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) consolidating power under M.K. Stalin, AIADMK’s internal fractures only serve to weaken its bid to reclaim the throne. The party’s dismal performance in recent elections where it secured a mere 22.6 percent vote share in 2024 compared to 40.48 percent in 2021 is evidence of its dwindling influence. And yet, instead of forging unity to counter the DMK’s stronghold, its two former leaders remain locked in a battle of personal grudges and political one-upmanship.

The split, of course, was inevitable. OPS, once the dutiful understudy to Jayalalithaa, briefly held the Chief Minister’s chair in moments of crisis, first when she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case in 2014, and then again after her passing in 2016. But his tenure was merely that of a caretaker. The real power lay with Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s confidante, who sought to install herself as the AIADMK’s de facto leader. When she was convicted in a corruption case, EPS, her supposed loyalist, swiftly abandoned her and claimed the party for himself, ejecting OPS in the process.

OPS, having suffered multiple political exiles, now pleads for a return to the fold. Palaniswami, recognizing the Trojan horse that could threaten his position, has rejected the overture outright.

There is an eerie parallel to be drawn here from Maharashtra in the rivalry between Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Khadse within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which played out in much the same way. Eknath Khadse, once a formidable force in the state’s politics and a strong claimant to the Chief Minister’s post, found himself systematically outmanoeuvred by the shrewd and calculating Fadnavis, who later blocked his return to the saffron fold.

Fadnavis understood a fundamental rule of political survival: allowing a wounded rival back into the party only invites future threats. Palaniswami, it seems, has taken a page from the same playbook.

But is this strategy sustainable for the AIADMK? OPS and his faction, which includes the once-powerful TTV Dhinakaran and Sasikala, are determined to reclaim lost ground. If history is any guide, internal feuds within Tamil Nadu’s opposition parties have often led to their undoing. Even as AIADMK leaders cling to the hope that anti-incumbency will automatically propel them back to power in 2026, the reality is that no divided party has won Tamil Nadu’s electorate in decades. Without a strong alliance and a clear, unified leadership, the AIADMK risks fading into irrelevance.

For now, Palaniswami may have won this round, solidifying his control over the party. But politics in Tamil Nadu is never static and even the most decisive victories in political vendettas are often temporary.