Having been outwitted by his son Anbumani Ramadoss, who joined the NDA, and facing strong opposition from the VCK, a constituent of the DMK front, PMK founder S. Ramadoss is left with two options: fight elections with the fledgling political party, TVK, or contest the next Assembly election alone.
A senior leader and confidant of Dr. Ramadoss told The Hindu, “just like every girl has a suitor… we too will find one soon”.
He added: “The DMK seems to be with the VCK. They ask us how they could go against an ally who has been with them through thick and thin. There is a lot of merit to that argument.”
Asked if Dr. Ramadoss plans to reach out to Mr. Thirumavalavan, the senior leader said, “No. He [Dr. Ramadoss] is too senior a leader [to approach Thirumavalavan].”
On the problems in joining the NDA, the senior leader said, “Ayya wants to be recognised as the head of the PMK. He also wants to be able to sign the B forms for the candidates.”
D. Ravikumar, VCK general secretary and Villupuram MP, said Mr. Thirumavalavan had reiterated that they wouldn’t be part of an alliance that has either the BJP or the PMK, and added that the party saw no reason to change this view.
Another senior VCK leader said the DMK did not want to bluntly tell Dr. Ramadoss that they don’t want him to be a part of the INDIA bloc. “I think the DMK is just being courteous when they tell Dr. Ramadoss that VCK is a much more valuable ally and that it is tough to include them without the approval of Thirumavalavan. If the DMK wants Dr. Ramadoss in the alliance, their approach would be different. They would discuss the number of seats with PMK first, then try to bring us on board, and later push for a compromise.”
This leaves Dr. Ramadoss with the option of either choosing to support actor Vijay as the Chief Ministerial candidate, after opposing the entry of film actors into politics, or contest the elections alone. A source close to Dr. Ramadoss said, “We are seriously considering these two options.”
Published – January 26, 2026 12:13 am IST
