Chennai, March 24 The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the political arm of the influential Vanniyar community, is set to take a major political decision regarding its alliance for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
This announcement is expected to be made during a public event at Mamallapuram on May 12 coinciding with the Chithirai Pournami festival.
According to sources within the PMK, the party, along with its parent body, the Vanniyar Sangam, plans to mobilize at least ten lakh people for the event. The massive rally will be a show of strength and a platform to push for key demands, particularly focused on caste-based rights and development issues.
After aligning with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the PMK remains open to reconsidering its political strategy.
The upcoming Chithirai Pournami meeting could serve as a turning point for realigning alliances ahead of 2026. This rally -- being held after a gap of 12 years -- will spotlight the DMK government’s failure to implement the 10.5 per cent internal reservation for Vanniyars within the Most Backward Classes (MBC) quota.
It will also call for a comprehensive caste census to ensure proportional representation for all communities.
PMK leaders have emphasized that the rally will focus on developmental demands and refrain from provocative speeches against other communities. Among the key demands to be raised are the need to conduct a caste census in Tamil Nadu, increase the 69 per cent reservation limit, and implement targeted development schemes for backward districts.
The PMK leadership sees this rally as a crucial step toward reshaping the party’s future political direction.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the PMK was in alliance with the BJP and AIADMK and currently holds five seats in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Founded in 1980 by Dr S. Ramadoss, the Vanniyar Sangam brought together various Vanniyar caste organizations and later played a key role in the 1987 Vanniyar reservation agitation.
This protest demanded MBC status for Vanniyars and led to widespread unrest across Tamil Nadu.
During the peak of the agitation, the state was crippled for a week -- highways were blocked, trees felled, and over 1,400 houses belonging to Dalit families were burned down. Police action led to the deaths of 21 protesters. In response, the DMK government granted MBC status to the Vanniyars in 1989, including access to reservation benefits in education and employment.
That same year, Dr Ramadoss founded the PMK, which has since grown into a powerful political force in the state.
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