Friends and benefits in Tamil Nadu NDA 

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• NDA adds several small parties in Tamil Nadu ahead of Assembly elections
• Dinakaran's AMMK rejoins NDA, bringing Thevar community support
• NDA aims to reduce DMK seats and possibly force a coalition government

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Small is big when the margins are thin. At the rally of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in Madurantakkam near Chennai, the NDA gathered a whole lot of new friends - smaller parties for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. They may seem inconsequential, but each brings in their individual elements of benefit to the alliance, especially in the event of a tight contest when even a 1000 votes can make a big difference.

BJP along with the AIADMK has a big influence in the western region of the state. BJP also has found a strong support base at the southern tip. If not an NDA win in Tamil Nadu, the BJP is looking at reducing DMK strength to 100 seats and probably forcing a coalition government in the state and encouraging shifts in loyalty and alliance. Supporting the AIADMK, the BJP has promised an MGR and Jayalalithaa type of governance in its appeal to the voters.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has managed to show the dissidents who is the boss. Those who did not agree with him, joined other parties like DMK or TVK. Former Chief Minister O Paneerselvam, belonging to Tevar caste, has been left in the wilderness while his supporters have joined the DMK. Palaniswami and his supporters have strong influence over the Gounder (a backward community) belt in the western region.

AIADMK had its support among the poor working class all over the state, especially during MGR rule. But when J Jayalalithaa came to power and she befriended Sasikala Natarajan, the latter's influence grew in the party and AIADMK became a Thevar caste based party.

With Paneerselvam sidelined and Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dinakaran forming another party, AMMK, it became a necessity to recover the Thevar vote bank. Dinakaran, also opposed to Palaniswami, recently joined back the NDA alliance, following a compromise negotiated by the BJP. Dinakaran brings back the support of the Thevar community, a dominant backward class from the southern region of the state.

Anbumani Ramadoss faction of the PMK is in the NDA. He has more influence over the Vanniyar community (most backward) than his father S Ramadoss (founder of PMK), who heads another faction, in the northern region.

B John Pandian, an advocate and social worker who formed the Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam in 2000, is another influence from the south bringing in a support base from the scheduled caste (SC) Pallars, essentially wetland farmers and cultivators.

Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) of GK Vasan stood with the NDA, along with PMK, even when AIADMK broke away from it before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He brings in the erstwhile support base of his father and founder of TMC, GK Moopanar, a Congressman from Indira Gandhi era. Their  sway is over the central regions of the state - Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur.

AC Shanmugam was a prominent AIADMK leader and former MP and MLA who founded the New Justice Party in 2001. He belongs to the wealthy land owning Mudaliar community. He is the founder and chancellor of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Rajeshwari Group of Institutions and ACS group of Institutions in Arani. The institutions mostly comprise engineering colleges. Shanmugam is a big source of funding for the NDA.

Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi founder TR Paarivendhar (also known as TR Pachmuthu) is a well known academician who founded the SRM Institute of Science and Technology. He runs a long string of engineering and medical institutions, including the SIMS Hospital, currently a leading hospital. Paarivendhar is a great source of funds and he has been associated with DMK earlier and with the BJP. He would be another major source of funding for the NDA, although he does not have any base.

Negotiations are going on with Vijayakanth's DMDK and Dr K Krishnaswamy’s  Dalit party Puthiya Tamizhagam. The DMDK allied with the AIADMK in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and its general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth is yet to finalise the party's alliance strategy. Krishnaswamy, belonging to the Pallars community of wetland cultivators, has been a supporter of BJP government policies and is most likely to join the NDA. With these two additions, the AIADMK-BJP front will have a settled look as an alliance with Vijay's TVK looks remote.