On a journey to reclaim his past, will OPS meet Sasikala at the end of the road?

What would have been the thoughts that rushed through the mind of Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam as he stood there, booed by 2,000-odd members of the AIADMK general council last Thursday? Did he think of his three coronations — when he was sworn in as the Tamil Nadu chief minister, when the same people in front of him now were bowing in reverence? Or his dramatic ‘dharmayudham’ at Jayalalithaa’s memorial in February 2017 that brought droves of AIADMK cadres to him?

Or was he thinking of the futility of having played the second fiddle to Edappadi K Palaniswami during the previous government even while remaining — on paper — the party coordinator? Was he thinking that in politics, as in life, everything is transitory? Was he thinking of giving up? Or was he thinking that this moment, his most humiliating in public, will be a turning point in his political career and that he would fight back? Perhaps all of that.

OPS would soon set out on a statewide tour to, according to his supporters, “gauge the cadre mood, expose his opponents and strengthen the party”. If this is going to be his Dharmayudham 2.0, he has to do more of action than meditation. Roadshows, as T T V Dhinakaran had proved, can be impressive if you spend a lot of money. OPS has no option but to loosen his purse strings. A show of strength is important for him at this juncture, but money won’t be enough to take his journey forward — or back to his past prominence.

The first thing he needs to decide is whether to go on the offensive at EPS or just speak about himself, his ‘sacrifices’, how he the righteous man was wronged, how he was handpicked by Jayalalithaa to be the standby chief minister twice — first time between September 2001 and March 2002 and the second time from September 2014 to May 2015 — when she was forced to vacate the seat following judicial orders, besides having a stint following Jayalalithaa’s death on December 5, 2016, a tenure that ended in his dramatic exit and the rise of EPS, how he had remained EPS’s deputy for the stability of the government.

The other option is to go for EPS’s jugular. OPS might strike an aggressive pose if he gets a resounding — not just encouraging — response from people and party cadres outside the general council and district committees. This would mean an all-out fight that could end with his expulsion from the party where his faction is hopelessly outnumbered by EPS supporters. What are his options in such a scenario? Floating a new party will be an expensive proposition with an uncertain future, so he may look at the BJP on one side and V K Sasikala on the other. While joining the BJP would be a meek surrender with minimal returns, going back to Sasikala would mean giving EPS a semblance of a fight.

Channels of communication between OPS and Sasikala, as also with Dhinakaran, have been open for a long time. A Sasikala-OPS-Dhinakaran team, however ironical that may sound, can make the division in AIADMK deeper, on thevar-goundar lines. And that would be bad news for EPS especially in the thevar-dominated south. On his way to Theni on Sunday, OPS told reporters at Madurai airport: “Everyone will soon know who spun the web of treachery. True cadres and people will decide my future.” Sasikala, meanwhile, had embarked on what she calls a “revolutionary tour to defend the rights of Tamil soil and dignity of women”. She told reporters on Sunday that she would set right the party and make it win “under a single leader”. Two ambitious AIADMK outcasts, two journeys. Shall the twain meet?