By Kavita Mistry 
PMK founder S Ramadoss and his son Anbumani are at loggerheads
Inheritance politics isn’t easy, as two sons in Tamil Nadu politics are realizing. Anbumani Ramadoss, 56, is locked in a power battle with his father and PMK founder S Ramadoss, 85. Durai Vaiko, 53, is feeling helpless as his dad and MDMK founder Vaiko, 80, is unable to stop his son’s challenger in the party.
In PMK, the differences have been brewing for years. It wasn’t quite a secret that Anbumani had disagreed with his father on some of the electoral alliances and seat sharing in the past. It all came to the fore at the party’s general council meeting on Dec 28, 2024, when Ramadoss announced the appointment of his grandson P Mukundan as the party’s youth wing president. Anbumani objected, saying Mukundan had only recently joined the party. Ramadoss put his foot down. “I founded this party,” he retorted, loud and clear through the microphone, “What I say should be followed, understand?”
This was the Ramadoss who, three decades ago, had said none of his family members would enter politics. But then, why should the younger generation suffer for the older one’s pledges? Ahead of PMK’s special general body meeting on May 28, 2022, this column had endorsed Anbumani’s appointment as the party president, citing five reasons. Here was the fifth: “Anbumani may well chart a new path for PMK. This will also be his challenge.” Anbumani is facing that challenge as Ramadoss has named himself the founder-president (another deviation from his promise not to hold any post in the party).
Durai, who resigned and took back within 24 hours his resignation as the MDMK principal secretary, has a slightly different problem in hand. Durai’s appointment as the party headquarters secretary in March 2022 met with protest from some senior functionaries. Now Durai believes party deputy general secretary Mallai Sathya is trying to unseat him for the top post. Last week, when MDMK Trichy district unit passed a resolution demanding removal of Sathya from the party post, Vaiko came to his defence.
This made it clear to Durai that his father cannot let go of Sathya, who had remained one of Vaiko’s staunch supporters even when seniors like Gingee Ramachandran and L Ganesan rebelled and were removed from the party in 2007.
Political inheritance is our national pastime. From Kashmir to Kerala, sons — and, in a few cases, daughters — have taken over party reins from their fathers (mother, in the case of the Nehru family that holds the record of passing the baton down four generations). Most of them have encountered internal turmoil, only a tip of which had come to public attention.
Business and politics aren’t too different when it comes to inheritance tussles. It could start during the succession planning and show up when generational differences and personality conflicts overtake love, loyalty and mutual respect. If not resolved quickly, this could threaten the institution the senior had built, and the junior tries to grow in his own way.
Business advisor Enrique M Soriano’s observation applies to Indian political families when he says fathers often find it challenging to let go of the reins they have held for years, while sons are eager to prove their worth and make their mark. “This struggle for power can manifest in clashing management styles and decision-making approaches,” says Soriano.
There is no easy cure to such conflict in politics either. Once the son takes over, the father should let go and be, at best, a detached advisor. For his part, the son should listen — or pretend to listen — to the father if the latter chooses to advise. That’s easier said than done. The only solution to the conflict is a fear of mutual loss. And that happens only when the party, unlike PMK and MDMK, is a frontrunner for power. Are M K Stalin and Udhayanidhi listening?
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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