On February 8, when he sat beside the beachside grave of his mentor J. Jayalalithaa seeking justice for her death, O. Panneerselvam was alone. There was no one by his side, except the spirit of his mentor that he claimed to have guided him. Days later, his official residence at Greenways road in Chennai was flooded with supporters as MLAs and MPs walked in. And a week later, when the Supreme Court pronounced orders against his mentor’s friend, he proclaimed: “Justice has won.”
But four months later, OPS, as he is popularly known, is unable to thrive on the justice he trusted. Unfortunately, his dharmayudh (war against dharma) did not gain momentum as he had expected it to. In fact, his strong intellectual camp, which comprised senior MPs and ministers, seems to be withering. On July 22, MLA Aarukutty, who was supporting OPS camp, switched sides to the ruling Edappadi K. Palanisamy camp.
A few more legislators are expected to switch camp soon and talks are underway, according to sources from the EPS camp. “They feel that being with OPS is like being an opposition MLA without any benefits,” the sources explained.
Meanwhile, as the EPS government has stabilised, much against the expectations of several camps in the ruling AIADMK, OPS is in an unforeseen quandary. In fact the budget session of the Tamil Nadu assembly saw a smooth conduct unlike during Jayalalithaa’s regime. There weren’t many evictions or war of words on the floor.
The man who was driving a hard bargain for the past four months in the name of dharma seems to have lost ground for negotiations. Though the EPS camp chose to relegate AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala and deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran who is set to chalk out a strategy after August 5, to the periphery of the party, OPS’s demand for a merger is still hanging in the air.
“All the problems faced by OPS were generated and continue to be generated by the BJP high command. It is no one else but Narendra Modi responsible for OPS’s failure. The alacrity in which the CRPF cover was granted for OPS immediately after the TN police protection was withdrawn itself makes this apparent. And OPS almost being a non-entity believed Modi magic will work for him. But it did not,” says senior journalist R. Ramasubramanian.
Apparently, Delhi, which enthusiastically saw OPS rebel and meditate at Jayalalithaa’s grave, misread him to be capable of a man who can tilt the state’s politics. In fact, this is the reason why the BJP high command still gives a reception to OPS. “True. Modi called him over phone asking for support for Vice President polls. And, he had met the prime minister thrice in these few months. It shows OPS is still at their call,” says Ramasubramanian.
In fact, OPS and his team members' meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Monday wasn’t looked upon as a courtesy call to merely request a solution to the protests against the hydrocarbon project at Neduvasal and ONGC at Kathiramangalam, as OPS had later stated. On the contrary, it was to ensure that he doesn’t lose the political game but instead, get the road set for a merger.
The man who subbed Jayalalithaa thrice and who was always looked like an obedient loyalist doesn’t have a choice now. In fact, his politics—on probing the mystery behind Jayalalithaa’s death and expelling the Mannargudi family from the party—have also turned out to be irrelevant these days. Apparently, no one from the Mannargudi family are currently taking calls regarding party as well as government matters. Most of such decisions are taken by EPS these days.
Party insiders say that OPS who once demanded to be in top of power as a pre-condition for a merger, has now toned down his demands by just asking for the party leadership post. But the men in his faction are still uncompromising in their demands for top portfolios. Sources say seniors like K.P. Munusamy, Semmalai and Mafoi K. Pandiarajan have already raised their voice of dissent within the camp.
OPS grew much stronger in Tamil Nadu politics, thanks to his rebellion that eventually led to his erstwhile boss Dhinakaran stepping aside. But much against the expectations, OPS with his 12 legislators, has failed to emerge as a political force. And, if he is not able to win in his war of dharma, he might yet again have to get back to the beachside grave to seek guidance from his mentor’s spirit.
