After the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016 and her arch rival M Karunanidhi in August 2018, many w...

After the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016 and her arch rival M Karunanidhi in August 2018, many wondered if space would open up for a political alternative in the state.
As the campaign for the 2021 Assembly elections rolled on, it became clear that the duopoly of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which have been ruling the state since 1967, remains deeply entrenched with no real challenger on the horizon.
On April 6, all 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu will go vote in a single phase, with results not expected until May 2.
The Assembly elections are seen as a do-or-die battle for both the Dravidian parties.
On the one side is the AIADMK led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. From falling at the feet of Jayalalithaa’s former aide VK Sasikala in February 2017 when he was elected the leader of the AIADMK legislative party, to easing the Sasikala clan out and turning into the party’s number one leader, the man who claims to be an “ordinary farmer” has come a long way in the state’s political field. Winning the election would be crucial for Palaniswami to show that becoming...