“I have joined DMK with absolute joy. EPS is behaving as a dictator, and he has created an AIADMK which cannot get victory hereafter,” O Panneerselvam told reporters shortly after he joined DMK, a party he once called “private limited company”.
The expelled AIADMK leader joined Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) in the presence of party chief and CM MK Stalin in Chennai today. Along with OPS (as he is popularly called), his son P Ravindhranath Kumar also joined DMK ahead of the forthcoming Tamil Nadu polls. OPS arrived at the DMK Headquarters in Chennai, in a car with former CM J. Jayalalithaa’s picture.
The move by O Panneerselvam, who is a former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, came just three days after he declared he would not join any political party or launch one.
Then what forced his dramatic political pivot towards the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam? The move appears to be the outcome of a series of closed doors within both the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – a party from where he was expelled after a leadership tussle with Edappadi K Palaniswami back in 2022.
Prior to his induction, Panneerselvam, 75, had dropped many hints.
Nearly seven months ago, the veteran politician had met Stalin during the latter’s morning walk at the Theosophical Society in Adyar. He later met the DMK chief at his residence in Alwarpet.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu MLA P Ayyappan, who is part of Paneerselvam’s camp, expressed his desire to see M Stalin lead the state again following the next assembly polls.
“The Breakfast Scheme was introduced with a visionary outlook. For small children who come to primary schools, the Chief Minister provides hot meals like a mother. Those who once raised slogans claiming that the Chief Minister had merely given Rs 5,000 are nowhere to be seen today. As long as Tamil Nadu exists, the Breakfast Scheme will continue to praise the Chief Minister. In the upcoming election, M.K. Stalin should once again win and return as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. With the blessings of Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R. and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, and with the wishes of our elder brother O. Panneerselvam, I express my gratitude at this moment,” Ayyappan said, according to news agency ANI.
How DMK gains from OPS
By inducting OPS (a prominent Thevar leader), the DMK aims to fracture the AIADMK’s strong grip on the Mukulathor (Thevar) community, particularly in southern Tamil Nadu. The DMK has often struggled in southern districts like Theni, Madurai, and Ramanathapuram.
Arithmetic Advantage: In tight three-cornered contests involving the AIADMK and Vijay’s new party (TVK), even a 3–5% shift in community votes facilitated by OPS could be the difference between winning and losing dozen of seats, experts say.
NDTV quoting its sources in the DMK reported that the Stalin-led party expects OPS to add marginal votes in about 15 seats. The party is likely to field him from Bodi seat, the report said.
“He was the choice of Jayalalithaa for the post of the CM thrice, but he was not given proper respect by EPS. EPS is afraid of these people. If these people come, his position will be weak. So, he does not want to take him in the party. He is with the BJP…OPS came with us to work against the BJP…DMK alliance is very strong. We will win 200…He (OPS) knows that our CM is working for the people of Tamil Nadu. AIADMK had joined hands with the party which is against Tamil Nadu..,” DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said, according to ANI.
‘O Panneerselvam is dead for us after he joined DMK’
OPS had been actively exploring a return to the NDA fold in recent months. At the time, he had a clear condition – of coming back into the alliance only through a formal re-entry into the AIADMK.
That pathway, however, was firmly blocked by AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
“O Panneerselvam is dead for us after he joined DMK, cheated the party that made him CM for three terms”, says AIADMK leader RB Udhayakumar.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026.
Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest.
In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively. While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats.