PMK founder Ramadoss re-elected as party president amid feud

Amid a power tussle with his son and former Union Minister Anbumani, PMK founder S Ramadoss was on Monday unanimously elected as the party president at its general council in Salem, with the 86-year-old leader asserting majority of the functionaries were with him and that his son did not have “even five per cent support” in the organisation.

The party’s general council and executive committee met here and gave an enhanced role in the party to Ramadoss’ daughter.

Meanwhile, the Anbumani faction dubbed the meeting as a “farce.” Both father and son are medical doctors.

Monday’s PMK meeting authorised Ramadoss to decide on forming alliance for the 2026 Assembly polls and to lead the party to victory. A resolution passed at the meeting said GK Mani and Ramadoss’ daughter Sreegandhi Parasuraman were also unanimously elected as PMK honorary president and working president, respectively.

Sreegandhi replaces her brother Anbumani, who was expelled from the party in October.

She will also replace Sowmiya, wife of Anbumani, as president of Pasumai Thayagam, a non-Governmental organisation promoting conservation of nature floated by Ramadoss.

Recently, the PMK founder had issued a public notice through his advocates, warning his son against using the party’s name, flag or symbol or to represent the party in any capacity.

At the meeting, the senior Ramadoss regretted that he did not raise Anbumani properly. The group led by his son, a former union health minister, was slandering him and Mani, though he did not deny him anything. Even if he were to be cut to pieces, he would have accepted it.

“But he is stabbing me in the chest and on the back. Every day Anbumani humiliates me,” Ramadoss said, turning emotional while addressing the meeting.

As he struggled for words, his daughter, seated beside him on the dias, comforted him. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ramadoss continued his speech and said his son did not even have five per cent of people backing him.

The attendance at today’s executive and general council meetings was clear that 95 per cent of PMK members were with him, Ramadoss claimed.

“We will give him a befitting reply in the upcoming elections,” he added.

Ramadoss had sought the opinion of district secretaries and office-bearers on who the PMK should forge electoral ties with and he would form the alliance based on their suggestions.

“I will make the right decision regarding the poll ties at the appropriate time and announce it. We will definitely secure the 10.5 per cent reservation (for Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community the PMK claims to represent),” he said.

The meeting empowered Ramadoss to initiate alliance talks on behalf of the PMK for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections, and also to select candidates and nominate them. The polls are due in March-April 2026.

PMK was part of the NDA in the 2021 Assembly polls as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, flaying Anbumani for defying party leadership, Sreegandhi reminded her brother that he was elevated in the party ranks and even made a union minister because of Ramadoss’ generosity. “He should remember that PMK without Ramadoss is lifeless,” she said and accused Anbumani of being a “slave to the RSS.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Mani accused Anbumani of “blatant betrayal.”

Legislator R Arul said senior Ramadoss had made “several sacrifices” and nurtured the PMK over the years.

“He set an example on how a leader should conduct himself through actions,” Arul said and slammed Anbumani for going against the wishes of Ramadoss.

Meanwhile, PMK advocate K Balu, a supporter of Anbumani, alleged that the Salem meeting was “a farce” as only Anbumani could convene the general council and executive committee meetings.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, he claimed that Ramadoss’ faction cannot remove Sowmiya from the post of president of Pasumai Thayagam.