DMK propaganda songs. Scores of men and women gather on the main road, holding up posters of chief minister M K Stalin and O Panneerselvam, or OPS, his new party associate.For OPS, a three-time CM, it’s a defiant shift in party allegiance — one that he took after ADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami stonewalled his repeated attempts to get back to the party. In the contest this time as DMK’s Bodinayakkanur candidate, he gets out of his car and carefully climbs to a tempo van that has been repurposed as a campaign vehicle. His three-vehicle convoy weaves through a paid — yet enthusiastic — crowd as he greets them with folded hands.
In his pocket, where J Jayalalithaa’s photograph once rested, is now a profile of Stalin. The picture on his car dashboard has also flipped.“Stalin will come back as CM. The Dravidian model of governance will be back,” he says, to claps and cheers. He looks up at the dangerously hanging electric cables — and promises he would get them reinstalled.“Raise your hands if you will vote for OPS,” cries a partyman. Most people do as directed, and Panneerselvam looks pleased.
A local resident, Visithra, 27, lifts her hand and her toddler’s, too. “TVK has not come campaigning here yet,” she says. “But I am not sure if my family, which always votes for ADMK, will vote for DMK.”Panneerselvam has recorded easy victories in Bodi thrice as an ADMK candidate. But this election may not be a cakewalk. ADMK candidate V T Narayanaswamy is a tough opponent. And OPS’s rivals are accusing him of betraying ‘Amma (J Jayalalithaa)’.The talk in tea shops and street corners reveal a mix of support, scepticism, and cautious optimism. Some voters admire OPS’s past heft and see his move to join DMK as driven by compulsions. Others question whether loyalty to Amma can be “so easily set aside”. The office in his bungalow in Subburaj Nagar in Bodi sports three framed pictures: of Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin, and a smaller Jayalalithaa portrait hanging by the side.Panneerselvam’s dramatic change of allegiance marks not just a personal turning point, but a controversial ideological re-positioning. Long identified with ADMK founder MGR’s legacy and Jayalalithaa’s persona, Panneerselvam now aligns with DMK’s Dravidian framework that emphasises social justice, rationalism, and development.“His switching sides is a result of political necessity,” says Mohammed Ali, a resident of Four Cross Road.Bodinayakkanur has long been an ADMK bastion. The constituency’s political identity has been shaped by deep-rooted loyalties, particularly among the dominant mukkulator community, which has historically leaned towards ADMK. In Tamil Nadu, party affiliations are not merely a matter of strategy; it is intertwined with community and loyalty.For DMK, fielding Panneerselvam in Bodi signals an intent to breach an ADMK stronghold. His campaign blends personal outreach with narratives of good governance and development under Stalin’s leadership.
