The AIADMK has been a very important regional and national player in the political landscape. The party has the distinction of ruling Tamil Nadu cumulatively for 33 years, which is a record.
However, under the leadership of Edapaddi K. Palaniswami, who does not have big mass appeal and is not a crowd puller, the party has put up its worst performance ever. The AIADMK candidates had forfeited deposits in seven Lok Sabha constituencies for the first time. The party has come a distant second after its principal rival, the DMK.
The DMK which fielded its candidates in 22 Lok Sabha seats, polled 47% of the total votes. The AIADMK fielded its candidates in 34 seats but got only 22.6% of the votes. Although the AIADMK leaders would boast that membership of the party was over 2 crore, the reality is that the party polled only 89.26 lakh of the votes in the Lok Sabha elections. Even in seats where the party was strong earlier, the candidates performed poorly this time.
What factors contributed to their poor show this time? What should Mr Palaniswami do to ensure the party is the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu and not the BJP?
Presentation: D. Suresh Kumar
Video: Shiva Raj S.
Production: Shibu Narayan
