Chennai: In southern Tamil Nadu, the place caste and politics intertwine like salt and water, this 12 months’s Thevar Guru Puja in Pasumpon was not only a present of respect, however a present of energy. With each Dravidian majors citing Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar’s legacy, the annual ritual has come to be generally known as a litmus take a look at of who can command the vote financial institution within the south, and will have a huge effect on the result of subsequent 12 months’s parliamentary elections.
Political analysts see this as a determined try and woo Muklator (collective time period for Karars, Malavars and Agamdials) voters as main forces converge on Pasumpong yearly. “The south is now not a assure for any political get together. After the dying of former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa and the following cut up within the get together, the southern area has develop into a aggressive area for political events and whoever can get the help of the Thevars amongst different communities stands to achieve. (That) has been confirmed all alongside,” political analyst N. Sathya Moorthy informed ThePrint.
On October 30, Prime Minister MK Stalin and AIADMK Normal Secretary Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami (EPS) evoked Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, a freedom fighter and icon of the Mukrathore neighborhood, and reaffirmed his allegiance to the area.
Stalin supported the AIADMK’s demand to award the Bharat Ratna to Thevar. He additionally declared {that a} wedding ceremony corridor can be inbuilt Pasumpong at a value of Rs 300 crore in Thevar’s title. “Thevar Aiya’s beliefs of equality and self-respect are values that transcend communities. His braveness belongs to all Tamils,” the DMK chief stated.
A number of hours earlier, EPS stood at the exact same spot and urged its ally the BJP to acknowledge Thevar’s contribution to India’s freedom motion. “He was a nationalist and social reformer whose beliefs influenced generations. He deserves the best civilian honor,” EPS stated.
Based on political analyst Professor Arun Kumar, this 12 months’s Thevar Jayanti was not only a day of homage but in addition a prelude to the 2026 parliamentary elections. “Each the events perceive that the Thevar-dominated southern belt, which incorporates Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari, is important for attaining a easy majority. Subsequently, gaining the help of the folks of the southern districts is essential for each events to achieve an edge within the meeting elections.”
All the ten constituencies in southern Tamil Nadu collectively account for 58 seats within the meeting. Within the 2021 elections, DMK gained 40 seats and AIADMK gained remaining 18 seats.—That is the primary reversal of fortune since 2016, when the AIADMK gained 33 seats and the DMK gained 25 seats within the southern area.
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battle for the south
Thevar Jayanti, held yearly in Pasumpong, has developed from a neighborhood gathering to a political spectacle. Through the years, leaders from all walks of life, from the DMK and AIADMK to the Bharatiya Janata Get together and the Congress, have lined as much as pay their respects.
Analysts say the decline in Thevar votes is symbolic for the AIADMK.
“The Thevar neighborhood, which constitutes a major proportion of the voters in these constituencies, has lengthy been built-in with the get together because the days of MG Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK’s conventional energy got here from the south, the place the Thevar identification was deeply tied to MGR’s populism and Jayalalithaa’s management,” stated N. Sathya Moorthy.
The choice to mark Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Jayanti as a authorities occasion was taken in 1979 throughout MGR’s tenure. This helped the AIADMK consolidate help among the many Thevars.
Later, in 2014, the then AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa offered him with 13 kg of gold cash. Kavasam (Armor) Go to the Tevar statue in Pasumpon.
The DMK, on the opposite hand, has been attempting to deliver the Thevar neighborhood to its aspect for many years. The outcomes had been evident not solely within the 2021 meeting elections but in addition within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the place the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu gained all of the seats within the south.
“The DMK’s year-on-year dedication to the Thevar neighborhood reinforces the continued important significance of the neighborhood’s affect throughout southern Tamil Nadu,” stated Professor Arun Kumar.
Nevertheless, he added that the Thevar neighborhood alone won’t resolve the election consequence. “Thevars alone could not resolve elections, however their collaboration will resolve whether or not southern Tamil Nadu shifts to the Dravidian left. That is why each symbolic transfer in Pasumpon carries strategic weight,” he stated.
The problem for the AIADMK is to seem inclusive whereas reaffirming its caste identification base. EPS itself is from the Gounder neighborhood within the west and has sought to beat the notion of imbalance by giving prominence to the get together’s former ministers RB Udayakumar and Selul Raju, who hail from the Thevar neighborhood.
Nevertheless, the get together’s breakaway chief O. Panneerselvam and AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran are each from the Thevar neighborhood, complicating the problem.
“Regardless of EPS working arduous with calls for to call Madurai airport after Muthuramalinga Thevar and to award Bharat Ratna, folks don’t see him as a Mukkulathor chief. For a very long time, OPS and TTV have been thought of because the face of AIADMK’s Mukkulathor and it will likely be tough for EPS to alter this,” Satya Moorthy stated.
In the meantime, though the DMK has managed to win a major variety of seats in 2021 in comparison with 2016, open outreach to Thevar just isn’t with out dangers for the get together.
“DMK’s symbolic embrace of Thevar heritage could alienate some Dalit supporters within the southern districts. Balancing social justice and identification concerns could also be tough as elections method,” Arun Kumar stated.
Why Tevar is essential
The Muklathors (Kalar, Malavar and Agamdial teams), also referred to as the Thevar neighborhood, are estimated to represent round 6-8 % of the state’s inhabitants. Nevertheless, they’re primarily concentrated in south-central Tamil Nadu.
This neighborhood has been thought of an essential voting bloc within the southern belt. Nevertheless, A. Ramasamy, a political analyst and former head of the Tamil division at Manonmaniam Sundaranal College, stated the Thevars wouldn’t essentially resolve the result of the election as their numerical share could not attain a majority in any constituency.
“Nevertheless, it’s broadly recognized that their alignment and the way they symbolically rally behind one get together will affect which of the main Dravidian events dominates within the area. That is true for all communities, not simply Thevars. No single neighborhood is assured to win any constituency within the state, however their allegiances result in shifts in perspective.”
“Though their training and financial standing are negligible, they personal vital land within the southern area, which permits them to dominate different landless castes within the area,” Ramasamy stated. Traditionally, the Tevar household was concerned in rural management, agriculture, and the native energy grid. Within the southern area, different backward castes, together with Nadars, Vellalars, and Nikels, and scheduled castes, together with Paraiyars and Devendra-Kula Vellalars, even have an essential presence.
Among the many many backward castes within the South, the Thevars get pleasure from better political energy than different castes. That is evident from the truth that out of the 35 ministers, 5 are from the Tevar faction and three from the Nadar faction.
Mukkulathor Pulipadai Get together chief Karunas stated that post-Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK has misplaced Mukkulathor’s help and neighborhood members now belief solely the DMK. Mr. Karunas had been a part of the AIADMK-led alliance since 2016 however switched to the DMK aspect in 2021.
“Proper from management points to the elimination of Mukkulathore leaders from the get together, the whole lot is seen as going towards the neighborhood and political leaders belonging to the neighborhood. So, for now, we’re strongly supporting the DMK,” Karunas informed ThePrint.
However political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy warns that votes in Thevar are now not concentrated in a single get together. “Whereas it’s true that the AIADMK has misplaced help from the Thevar neighborhood, it has not utterly misplaced help. Group help is now unfold throughout all political events, together with the DMK, AIADMK and the BJP. Subsequently, no get together can declare help till the outcomes of the 2026 meeting elections are recognized.”
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
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