Split and merger is not new to AIADMK

When SD Somasundaram left the party to start a new one and VN Janaki faction merged with J Jayalalithaa’s  after the death of MGR. In a parliamentary democracy, the leader of the majority party in the legislature becomes the Chief Minister.  It is imperative that the leader of the government is also able to play a key role in the party.  It is not so in the US, where the President heads only the government and is responsible to the party.  

The split of the CPI and CPI (M) in 1964 was on ideological lines.   Sino-Soviet split and unconditional support to Congress by CPI led to the split in the party.  The Congress split in 1967 continued till the emergency was declared in 1975 and it continued till 1977.  Janata Party came to power with Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister and his cabinet was full of former Congress leaders.   The split was against the leadership of Indira Gandhi (for sidelining all senior leaders of the Congress) and for her policies. 

The split in 1949 in the DK, resulted in the forming of DMK. This was on serious ideological lines. The split in DMK in 1972 when MGR started ADMK (as it was called) initially looked as a division based on issues within the party, but later proved to be a permanent divide.  One can also see another trend of parties launched in Tamil Nadu as an offshoot of Dravidian ideology, such as PMK, MDMK, DMDK etc. 

The recent AIADMK split is more a functional rather than an ideological one.  Domination of one person and her family was opposed initially by one group headed by OPS   It is the same issue which made the other group (heading the government) to distance itself from the individual and family.   An individual and a family have been identified by both groups as blocking the effective functioning of the government and functioning of the party. Splits and mergers are not new in AIADMK, and the present political crisis in the party is also one where the two groups feel that there are many factors that unite them rather than divide them.  The split was not on ideological lines but on functional difficulties. The present split, if handled properly and correctly,will strengthen the party and the government.