Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), paid a surprise visit to his father and party founder Dr S Ramadoss at the family’s ancestral home in Thailapuram near Tindivanam Thursday morning, marking the first interaction since their highly publicised fallout over party leadership.
During the 45-minute visit, Anbumani was accompanied by his younger daughter Sanjuthra. The meeting has sent ripples through PMK ranks and the state’s political landscape, triggering speculation of a potential rapprochement.
Insiders, however, insisted that this was only the “first round” in a slow and complex reconciliation process. “It will be resolved only when Anbumani… shows respect, and promises to take care of his sister Gandhimathi, and her son,” a senior PMK functionary close to the family told The Indian Express. “What happened today is just the beginning. It might take two or three such rounds (of meeting) to settle.”
The feud between father and son, once seen as the ideological and organisational core of PMK, has evolved into a full-blown generational and familial crisis, blending party politics with personal grievances.
Last month, the elder Ramadoss, 85, publicly declared that making his son a Union Minister had been a mistake and removed him from the post of party president and named himself the “working president”, resulting in uncertainty about the PMK’s future.
Thursday’s meeting also comprised subtle but significant gestures. As Anbumani met his parents inside, his sister Gandhimathi — whose son Mukundan was recently made youth wing president and is said to have resigned shortly after — arrived at the residence.
Anbumani left soon after her arrival, fuelling speculation that the family’s unresolved sibling dynamics may be as central to the standoff as political control.
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In what appeared to be a parallel effort at mediation, RSS and AIADMK have also held talks with Ramadoss. The role being played by the BJP and the AIADMK in the negotiations are significant in view of PMK’s stability. Loyalty towards the AIADMK and the BJP was also a question between the father and the son. When Anbumani preferred to enter the state alliance through NDA, Ramdoss insisted they should see the AIADMK as the prime ally.
