Chief Minister’s post in Tamil Nadu remains elusive for Scheduled Castes

Despite Scheduled Castes constituting 20% of Tamil Nadu’s population as per the 2011 Census, the top political post, Chief Minister, of the State has remained elusive for the community. 

Despite Scheduled Castes (SC) constituting 20% of Tamil Nadu’s population and accounting for at least one-fifth of the population in 17 out of 32 districts as per the 2011 Census, the top political post — Chief Minister — of the State has remained elusive for the community. 

This assumes relevance in light of a recent observation by Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, who has been having a running battle with the DMK government on a number of matters, that the State should have an SC Chief Minister in the future. It has been a long-standing grievance of SC activists that the community has not been given prominence in appointments of political posts to the extent it deserves, unlike in many other States. 

In support of their point, they cite the examples of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. In 1960, the undivided Andhra Pradesh got its first SC CM when D. Sanjivayya held the post during January 1960-March 1962. As per the 1961 Census, the SCs’ share in the southern State was 13.8% and 60 years later, it was 16.41%.

Uttar Pradesh (Mayawati - four times), Bihar (Bhola Paswan Shastri - three times; Ram Sundar Das, and Jitan Ram Manjhi), Maharashtra (Sushilkumar Shinde), and Punjab (Charanjit Singh Channi) were the other States that witnessed SC leaders becoming CMs. Except Ms. Mayawati, who had a five-year full term once, others occupied the post for a period that ranged from a minimum of seven days to a maximum of two years. 

As per the 2011 Census, the community accounts for 31.94% of the total population in Punjab; 20.7% in UP; 15.91% in Bihar; and 11.81% in Maharashtra, according to the annual report of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Favouring the position of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder Thol. Thirumavalavan that the prospects of a Dalit becoming a Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu were dim, a senior functionary of a national party, who had been an MP and MLA, says: “All the intermediate castes will come together to ensure the post does not go to a member of the SCs.” In fact, after Mr. Thirumavalavan expressed his view in August last year, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss made an offer to make an SC the Chief Minister if his party received support from the community. Such a promise was not new for the PMK, which, in 1991, had made a similar statement. 

“As a first step, there has to be Dalit consolidation. Even this has not yet taken place in the State,” says K.A, Manikumar, former professor of history at the Manomaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli. However, on this issue, Mr. Thirumavalavan, in an interview with Frontline (a sister publication of The Hindu) in March 2024, recalled how “homogeneous alliances” failed during the 2001 Assembly and 2004 Lok Sabha elections (when the VCK and the Puthiya Tamilagam were part of one formation). Besides, he referred to the failure of the experiment of Makkal Nala Kootani (People’s Welfare Front) as a third force in the 2016 Assembly poll, wherein the VCK had played a lead role.