The third, non-political players in Tamil Nadu’s electoral battlefield dominated by Dravidian majors

The support taken by the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM)’s founder-leader Kamal Haasan from the ruling Dravidia Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in getting himself elected to the Rajya Sabha recently has not only reinforced the durability of the Dravidian majors in the politics of Tamil Nadu but also demonstrated yet again that the space for a third player or an independent force is extremely limited.

Ever since the State politics began having duopoly in 1977 with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) being the other force, numerous parties and individuals had attempted to forge a viable alternative to the principal players. So far, success has eluded them.

The list of the parties that had tried their luck is quite long. The Congress, both in 1977 and 1989, had tied up with smaller parties including the Communist Party of India (CPI), a faction of the Muslim League and the Christian Democratic Front. But, on both occasions, it had the satisfaction of getting votes to the extent of 17.5% to 20%, grabbing 27-26 seats. The Janata, largely the remnant of the Congress (O), too went alone in 1977 but it could get 10 seats with a vote share of 16.67%. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (1991, 1996 and 2016); Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, with an electoral deal with CPI (Marxist) and the Janata Dal in 1996 and without allies in 2001; Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam in 2006; Bharatiya Janata Party in 2006, 2011 and 2016; the People’s Welfare Front (PWF), comprising CPI, CPI-M, DMDK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the TMC (Moopanar), in 2016; Naam Tamilar Katchi in 2016 and 2021; Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and the MNM in 2021 form part of the list of failed experiments.

Apart from such political experiments, individuals accomplished in their respective fields, have also tried their luck in electoral politics.

Veteran Tamil writer, D. Jayakanthan, was one of those who had wanted to enter the Assembly on their own. He contested in T.Nagar assembly constituency in 1977, a seat that was perceived to be a haven of the educated middle class and literary buffs. Even by then, he had bagged the Sahitya Akademi’s award. But, that was not enough. When the results were out, it was quite evident that he was nowhere in the electoral race. He could net 481 votes. The contest was between the DMK and the AIADMK.

In 1984, former IAS officer, D.Gangappa, entered the electoral fray of the Vellore as an independent. As the Collector of the undivided North Arcot district during June 1980-May 1981, he was in limelight for facilitating the installation of a deity in ‘a temple without God’ (Jalakanteswarar temple) in March 1981 within the Vellore Fort amidst opposition from the Archaeological Survey of India. Notwithstanding his reputation as a popular Collector, Gangappa could gather only 37,312 votes with a vote share of about 6.9%. The AIADMK’s nominee, A.C.Shanmugam, who was backed by the Congress, romped home.

But, in the same year, the Padmanabhapuram assembly constituency in the deep-south Kanniyakumari district proved an exception to the general trend of the State. V. Balachandran, an independent who was from the Hindu Munnani (Hindu Front), defeated the AIADMK’s M. Vincent and the Janata’s P.D.S. Mony, who was supported by the DMK and its allies including the CPI (M). A long-standing member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh recalls that the success of the Hindu Munnani’s nominee was a backlash against the Mandaikadu riots during March 1982 in the district. Twelve years later, it was through the constituency that the BJP first entered the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

In the 1989 Assembly polls, Mylapore saw an interesting battle, apart from what was witnessed among candidates of the major parties. There were three independents – former Finance Minister V.R. Nedunchezhian, who was briefly out of the AIADMK; former Sattankulam legislator “Nellai” R. Jebamani, who was in the Janata earlier and a bitter critic of the DMK, and film actor S.Ve. Shekher, who was an independent then. While Jebamani secured 2,575 votes, Nedunchezhian, with 596 votes, was behind Mr Shekher, who got 1,018 votes. Needless to say, the DMK was the winner. Seventeen years later, Mr Shekher, as the AIADMK’s nominee, was elected from the constituency.

Later that year, it was the turn of former Foreign Secretary A. P. Venkateswaran, to jump into the fray in Madras South parliamentary seat. In the early 1987, he exited from the government service under controversial circumstances two years earlier. Along with him, former Director General of Police, K. Radhakrishnan, was in the race. While Venkateswaran finished third with 24,967 votes, the former DGP secured 3,029 votes. The point of comfort for the former diplomat was that he was ahead of the PMK’s nominee by about 2,700 votes. There was no surprise element about the winner - the sitting parliamentarian and veteran film artiste-Bharatanatyam danseuse, Vyjayanthimala Bali of the Congress – who was backed by the AIADMK.

Seven years later, the same constituency saw the entry of another film actress, Revathi whose maiden film was Mann Vasanai (1983) under the direction of Bharathiraja. Though she finished third with 42,906 votes, she had pushed down the candidates of parties such as the BJP, MDMK and the PMK.

In 2006 Assembly polls, the DMDK founder Vijayakant and independent, T. Ramachandran, who was earlier in the CPI (M) and presently in the CPI, demonstrated that they could win on their own from Vridhachalam and Thalli, as accomplished by M. Appavu, now in the DMK, in 2001.

A couple of former civil servants – P. Sivakami of the 1980 batch of the Tamil Nadu cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and L.V. Saptarishi of the 1969 batch of the West Bengal cadre of the IAS – were fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party from Kanniyakumari and Mayiladuthurai during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. In the constituency where the battle was intense with the presence of the DMK, BJP, CPI (M) and DMDK, Ms Sivakami could get only 6,400 votes. In Mayliaduthurai, her colleague netted 5,554 votes. Two years later, she tried her luck from Gangavalli, an Assembly constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), as the nominee of the Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK) but received only 4,048 votes.

During the 2016 Assembly polls, two-term Vice-Chancellor of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and former Chairperson of the State Commission for Women V. Vasanthi Devi, as the Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (backed by People’s Welfare Front) candidate, took on the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in R.K. Nagar. She netted a mere 4,195 votes. Following Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was originally in the AIADMK, was elected from the seat as an independent in late 2017. Later, he founded the AMMK.

Mindless of the State’s tradition and the eventual outcome, the NTK, led by film actor-director Seeman, fielded its nominees both in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls nearly in the last 10 years on its own. The recent entrant to the State politics, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), headed by Vijay, appears to be readying itself to face the 2026 Assembly poll without depending upon either of the Dravidian majors, even though Mr Vijay has expressed keenness to align his party with smaller parties.

Published - June 18, 2025 06:30 am IST