After 12 years, PMK hopes to display its hold among Vanniyar community

Vanniyar Youth Conference organized by PMK after 12 years to showcase strength ahead of Tamil Nadu elections.

Several lakh youth, mostly Vanniyars, are expected to congregate at the Vanniyar Youth Conference in Mamallapuram being organised by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) after a gap of 12 years on Sunday (May 11, 2025) evening.

On both sides of the East Coast Road, party cadres have put up banners of PMK founder S. Ramadoss and president Anbumani Ramadoss and other leaders, including the late ‘Kaduvetti’ Guru, who was known for making incendiary speeches.

Extensive security and seating arrangements have been made for the event, which would be an opportunity for the party to exhibit its strength a year ahead of Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. This morning, former PMK president G.K. Mani and senior leader A.K. Moorthy oversaw preparations as the cadres began trickling into the venue.

Twelve years ago, when the PMK organised the massive Chithirai Pournami Youth Conference, the party was in a very different place.

In 2006, PMK had won in 18 Assembly seats and believed it was destined for bigger things in Tamil Nadu politics. Despite winning just 3 seats in 2011 in alliance with the DMK, it harboured great ambition; it wanted to lead an alliance without the Dravidian parties. The PMK joined the NDA in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with Dr. Anbumani winning the Dharmapuri seat. In 2016 Assembly polls, it went solo projecting him as Chief Ministerial candidate but failed to make a mark.

It was also during this period, the party pursued a sharp-edged caste politics, in particular rallying against inter-caste marriages involving Schedule Caste youth and caste Hindu women. In November 2012, large scale violence unfolded in Natham Colony, a SC hamlet in Naickenkottai of Dharmapuri district after a Vanniyar woman fell in love with an inhabitant of the village. Subsequently, in 2013, violence erupted between Vanniyar youth and SCs in Marakkanam as they were en route to attend the Youth Conference.

Senior leaders including Ramadoss and his son were arrested, which had resulted in further violence.