The story so far: After futile efforts of the Madras High Court to mediate a truce between Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder Dr. S. Ramadoss and his son Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday (August 8, 2025), the general body meeting of the party, convened by Mr. Anbumani, was held at Mamallapuram the next day (August 9), for the first time without its founder Mr. Ramadoss. It was resolved that Mr. Anbumani would continue as party president for a year until the next party election in August 2026.
Pattali Makkal Katchi’s ongoing leadership feud between Mr. Ramadoss and Mr. Anbumani has shocked the cadre and created a split within the party, causing conflict – right from senior leadership down to the grassroots. In districts where they are strong, there are two groups of office-bearers, claiming that they are the PMK office-bearers.
When did Ramadoss-Anbumani spat begin?
During the party’s special general council meeting at Pattanur in Villupuram district on December 28, 2024, the father and son sparred publicly for the first time when Mr. Ramadoss announced P. Mukundan, his grandson (Ramadoss’ elder daughter Gandhimathi’s son), as the party’s youth wing president. Mr. Anbumani objected saying that Mr. Mukundan (who is also his son-in-law) had joined the party only four months back and it was “too soon”. Mr. Ramadoss rejected it and even asked Mr. Anbumani to leave the party if he cannot function as per his wishes. The next day, Mr. Anbumani called on his father at his Thailapuram residence and later told reporters that heated arguments or debates during general council meetings were normal. But, the conflict did not end there.
Months later, Dr. Ramadoss announced his decision to remove Mr. Anbumani from the post of party president and took on the role himself, redesignating his son as the ‘working president’ during a press conference at his Thailapuram residence on April 10, 2025. After two days, Mr. Anbumani asserted that he would continue to be the party president as his appointment was approved by PMK’s general council.
Ramadoss-Anbumani rift widens
Sharing the dais with Mr. Anbumani during the Vanniyar youth conference held after a gap of 12 years at Mamallapuram on May 11, Mr. Ramadoss hinted at cliques being formed within the party, which was seen as a veiled attack on his son and insisted that he would take the final call on PMK’s alliance for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2026. His speech raised the eyebrows of senior PMK leaders.
While the senior leadership expected that the issue would be resolved, but Dr. Ramadoss’ weekly press conferences accusing Dr. Anbumani of violent attack against his own mother and non-performance as party president, escalated the feud as each faction attempted to consolidate the party under their leadership, forcing office-bearers, who had previously expressed their wished to see a quick resolution, siding with either Mr. Ramadoss or Mr. Anbumani.
On May 16, more than 200 of the 216 district presidents and secretaries of the PMK did not turn up for a meeting called by Mr. Ramadoss at his Thailapuram residence. He attributed it to exhaustion, following their participation in Vanniyar Youth Conference.
While addressing at a party meeting in Tiruvallur on June 15, reiterating that he would continue as party president, Mr. Anbumani sought “forgiveness” saying, “If Ayya [Mr. Ramadoss] is angry with me, I sincerely ask for his forgiveness. There is nothing big in apologising to father.” Reluctant to reconcile, the PMK founder even restrained his son from using his surname, allowing him to use only in the latter’s initial.
Making a serious allegation, Mr. Ramadoss, on July 11, stated that a bugging device was planted beneath his chair at his Thailapuram residence. A police investigation is underway.
Days later, Mr. Ramadoss lodged a complaint with the Director-General of Police seeking to prevent Mr. Anbumani’s 100-day padayatra across Tamil Nadu in order to “reclaim the rights of the Tamil people,” citing that the campaign would cause law and order issues due to a possible clash between the two factions. However, minutes before the denial of police permission came, Mr. Anbumani had already kickstarted his padayatra at Thiruporur on July 25.
PMK loses its sheen
The root of the issue, many political observers say, lies with steady erosion of PMK’s political capital, in the last 15 years. At one point, PMK was seen as a progressive force – which reserved the general secretary’s post for Scheduled Caste, erected hundreds of Dr. Ambedkar’s statues and gave plum ministries to Scheduled Castes. Today, the PMK is seen as its opposite, largely down to Dr. Ramadoss’ problematic campaign of ‘Nadaga Kadhal’ against Dalit youths in the early years of the last decade to consolidate non-Dalit communities.
The PMK’s narrative was an attempt to appeal to the larger OBC communities, beyond the traditional Vanniyar strongholds, that are deeply conservative in rural Tamil Nadu and smaller towns.
While it helped PMK, which was a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprising Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and others, in the short term as Mr. Anbumani won the three-cornered contest in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, PMK gradually began to lose its position as being the crucial piece in the winning alliance’s jigsaw. In 2016, Mr. Anbumani launched a campaign that was called ‘Maatram Munnetram Anbumani’, pitching himself as a Chief Ministerial candidate, shedding the party’s caste identity and in an attempt to attract young, new voters. It did not work.
PMK’s relationship with EPS-led AIADMK
With the death of AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Mr. Ramadoss and Mr. Anbumani launched a blistering attack against the new AIADMK leadership, then led by former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, on an almost daily basis for the next two years. However, in an inexplicable decision, the father and son formed an alliance with the AIADMK in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, losing their credibility and the elections. Mr. Anbumani has hinted that it was not his decision to form an alliance with AIADMK in 2019.
After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they began a campaign to urge the AIADMK government to provide 20% reservation to Vanniyars within the most backward class category in jobs and education. The PMK was able to convince a desperate AIADMK government to pass a law in the State Assembly just before notification of the Assembly elections, on 10.5% internal reservations for the Vanniyars. Despite contesting in 23 seats as part of the alliance, the PMK won in just five.
PMK in NDA
Again, in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Salem West MLA R. Arul visited AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s house, who had then left the NDA alliance, it was believed that PMK-AIADMK alliance was sealed. However, the PMK joined the NDA in the wee hours of the morning, which Mr. Ramadoss recently said he had agreed due to pressure exerted by his son Mr. Anbumani and his wife.
The bone of contention
The key disagreement between the father and the son seems to be about who would take crucial decisions within the party – office-bearer appointments, candidate selection and decision on alliance during elections. While Mr. Ramadoss always had the final say when it comes to most decisions in the PMK, with the appointment of Mr. Anbumani as party president in 2022, the dynamics began to change. Mr. Ramadoss reportedly was not comfortable with Mr. Anbumani sticking his hands into the former’s pie.
With the State Assembly elections just months away, it remains to be seen whether the father, Mr. Ramadoss and the son, Mr. Anbumani can patch up and see eye-to-eye to prevent further erosion of Pattali Makkal Katchi’s political capital in the upcoming polls.
Published – August 11, 2025 06:00 am IST
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