J Jayalalithaa (AI generated image for representation)

New Delhi: Nearly a decade later J Jayalalithaadeath, Artificial Intelligence ADMK Still trying to rediscover myself. The party, once united by Armagh’s lofty authority, has struggled with leadership battles, electoral setbacks and coalition changes for years even as it prepares for another high-stakes parliamentary election in 2026.On Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary, one question looms large: has the AIADMK truly emerged from the vacuum she left behind, or is it still looking for a leader who can restore its lost dominance?The AIADMK was once the dominant force under Jayalalithaa as the party’s supremo and held significant sway in the state’s political landscape. But how has the party reinvented itself since her death? After the death of the Tamil Nadu heroine in 2016, how did the party resolve the internal infighting over her true political heir?From a major blow to the Vajpayee government, to its on-again, off-again relationship with the saffron party, and now, despite recent setbacks, a carefully considered continuation of the alliance in the upcoming polls and in Prime Minister Modi‘Mann Ki Baat’, Amma’s AIADMK remains hard to ignore, whether the BJP is fragile or politically dominant.

Prime Minister Modi said, “Commemorating the birthday of Jayalalithaa Ji. She has found a place in the hearts of countless people as a charismatic leader and an outstanding administrator. Her life journey was marked by immense courage and determination. As Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, she advocated welfare-driven governance with a focus on women empowerment, social justice and inclusive development. She was compassionate and decisive. I recall my interactions with her with great pleasure.”With Tamil Nadu heading towards assembly elections in the summer of 2026, this will be the second such poll without a strong presence from Jayalalithaa. 2021 parliamentary elections deal major blow to AIADMKas the party suffered a major defeat at the hands of DMK leader and son of M Karunanidhi, Stalin. The void left by Amma’s strong leadership has not been filled as the party battles internal contenders, with Edappadi Palaniswamy (EPS) now captaining the AIADMK, establishing a strong focus on the chairmanship in Chennai.

Immediately after Jayalalithaa’s death, senior party leaders A.PanneerselvamPopularly known as OPS, he took office as the Chief Minister. However, given Amma’s towering personality and mass appeal, he’s too far away to fully take her place.Her gravitas and unparalleled mass connect accumulated over her years in public life drew huge crowds to the streets, and she was buried on Chennai’s iconic Marina Beach next to her political mentor and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran.

After Amma, senior OPS party leaders found themselves comfortably taking over Jayalalithaa’s chair, but not for long. Within a year, he was demoted. In February 2017, earnings per share rose to first place. A few months later, OPS started serving as deputy chief minister under his new boss, this time not Jayalalithaa but Edappadi K. Palaniswamy, a few years his junior from a rival faction in the party.EPS-OPS relations started to get strained and two AIADMK stalwarts engaged in an ugly duel, gradually making the rival DMK appear stronger and eventually paving the way for MK Stalin to grab a strong chief ministerial seat. Meanwhile, the AIADMK leadership is locked in a legal battle, with EPS and OPS each denying the power of the other and asserting their claim to the party leadership post – the post of general secretary.The dispute between the two veterans was heard by the Madras High Court and later the Supreme Court, with both courts ultimately ruling that EPS was a more suitable leader of the AIADMK, leading to O Panneerselvam’s ouster.

However, Amma’s death did not immediately pit EPS and OPS against each other. The real central players in the initial power struggle were the Sasikala family. A close aide to Tamil Nadu’s most powerful woman, Sasikala is often described by some as Jayalalithaa’s shadow and by others as her friend. However, the then Prime Minister and party leader Jayalalithaa herself had the kindest words for Sasikala, saying she was “almost like a sister”.“Immediately after Amma’s death, Sasikala was unanimously elected as the acting general secretary of the AIADMK, and soon after she was elected as the leader of the assembly. However, the then chief minister’s OPS rebelled against Sasikala and reported that he was forced to resign as chief minister of Tamil Nadu, giving a new twist to the state’s politics.Sasikala also appointed her nephew TTV Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary of the party. Later, Dhinakaran started trading Amma’s legacy for political currency and eventually formed his own party after the EPS-led AIADMK expelled Sasikala from the organization. He then founded a new outfit named after Jayalalithaa – Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK).After being convicted in the illicit assets case related to Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was sentenced to four years in jail and lodged in Bengaluru Central Jail. Before going to jail, she appointed EPS as the legislative party leader of the AIADMK, paving the way for him to become the chief minister.

In a dramatic twist, EPS later expelled members of the Sasikala family from the party and relieved OPS of key positions, consolidating his control over the AIADMK.After squeezing out big names like former Prime Minister Panneerselvam and alienating the Sasikala faction, EPS has tightened its grip on the party command. Now, he continues to position himself as the undisputed leader of the AIADMK, eager to regain the state’s top job and challenge the leadership of the sitting MP Stalin.

However, on the occasion of her birthday anniversary on Tuesday, Sasikala also floated the idea of ​​forming her own political party, another attempt to use Amma Jayalalithaa’s name and legacy as political currency.

Sasikala told reporters: “There is a function to celebrate Amma’s birthday today. We are having a birthday event for her and there will be good news then. “

Amma’s last election in Tamil Nadu left her severely out of control in many seats, thereby reducing the number of seats she won in the 2011 elections. Still, Jayalalithaa was able to push her ship towards the magic number – a majority of 118 out of 234 seats – with Amma’s party getting 136 seats without any alliance support or even the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party – a national party that has a bitter-sweet relationship with the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK.Under Jayalalithaa’s leadership, the AIADMK won the assembly polls and created history by becoming the first ruling party in Tamil Nadu since 1984 to return to power with a simple majority.This was the last election contested by J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi, who passed away later in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

During the Lok Sabha elections, the AIADMK suffered one of its biggest setbacks in the 39-seat Tamil Nadu battleground. After losing its heroine, the party is left with just one seat, in stark contrast to its landslide victory of 37 seats in 2014 under Amma’s leadership, clearly highlighting the impact of Jayalalithaa’s absence.The AIADMK, however, allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which won a landslide victory across the country and returned to power for a second consecutive term as prime minister. In Tamil Nadu, however, the alliance’s performance has been disastrous, with disgraceful results. No one – neither EPS nor Modi – can replicate the resounding success of one woman, Jayalalithaa, in the state in the 2014 elections.

The slide in Tamil Nadu assembly polls also continues. The EPS-led Amma-less AIADMK hoped to retain power but failed to make a comeback. After a humiliating result of just one seat in the Lok Sabha polls, the Amma-less party’s strength in Parliament has further shrunk to double digits – far short of what is needed to remain in power.

Meanwhile, despite the death of M Karunanidhi, Stalin’s father and a staunch supporter of the DMK, Stalin became even more powerful. This is also the first time the DMK is holding elections in the absence of its long-time elders. However, unlike the AIADMK, the DMK has no visible infighting or petty internal politics. This relative unity may have helped Stalin solidify his leadership and firmly establish himself as the nation’s highest office.

There is no change for the AIADMK in the 2024 general elections. The party remains at the bottom of the table, this time failing to win even a single seat. The party, once a formidable force under Ramachandran and later his successor Jayalalithaa, was reduced to irrelevance in the Lok Sabha polls.

The setback forced the AIADMK to effectively start fresh, although some of the old guard continue to cast a shadow over its current status. Sasikala and her nephew Dhinakaran have intermittently taken aggressive stances in the new era of EPS leadership, while another senior leader, former chief minister O Panneerselvam, has continued to take jibes at the party leadership. For many within the organization, these developments are a far cry from the party’s past golden days.

From the Vajpayee era to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent tribute to ‘Amma’ on her birth anniversary, the relationship between the BJP and the AIADMK has come full circle, with alliances, ruptures and reunions. Even after its electoral setback in Tamil Nadu, the saffron party has opened its doors to its old Dravidian allies, once again demonstrating that political necessity outweighs past differences.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the BJP-AIADMK partnership as a “natural alliance” and argued that the outcome of the Lok Sabha in 2024 would have been very different if the two contested together. “We fought together in 1998, 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 2021 Assembly elections. But in 2024, we are contesting separately. If our votes are combined, we will win 36 seats,” he said, adding that 2024 and 2025 were the years when the BJP won in several states and the trend would be repeated in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.For the BJP, the outreach made a hard truth clear: Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian voter base remains rooted in regional forces, mainly the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK. In a bid to re-establish a wider NDA footprint in the state, the party is also reaching out to smaller players and former allies.Meanwhile, AIADMK president Edappadi K Palaniswami termed the alliance “crucial” to defeat what he termed the “anti-people” DMK regime. “The AIADMK will seize power with an absolute majority in 2026… Never in the history of Tamil Nadu has there been such a corrupt, incompetent and anti-people government,” EPS said.The latest AIADMK-BJP partnership, once again led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami – now once again positioning himself as Jayalalithaa’s political heir and reshaping the party’s line-up, balancing long-term allies with those who control him – aims to challenge the powerful DMK led by Stalin without Amma’s shadow any more. Whether this new alliance will endure or prove another brief truce will ultimately be decided at the ballot box as Tamil voters weigh legacy, leadership and commitment in the coming months.