Bhubaneswar: For the 72 year old ​Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s political journey, the echo of past glory is fading out in the noise of new times.

The leader, who began his politcal journey under the eyes of venerable MGR, and who as a Jaya loyalist towered to the top ecleons in Tamil Nadu power coridor, is now battling for survival.

EPS 'Survival' Journey

The four decade old political journey of EPS now has entered into a journey that has been one of survival. His rise from a 1974 branch secretary to Chief Minister in 2017 was the stuff of legends. He outmaneuvered Sasikala, sidelined OPS, and consolidated a fragmented party under his sole command as General Secretary in 2023.

EPS, who was generally seen as a pupet in the Tamil Nadu political theatre, grew in stature in 2017, post the handshake with O Panneerselvam (OPS) and had his control over the AIADMK that was fast slipping to abyss thanks to immense factionalism and consequent policy paralysis.

When political space was watching the collapse of the AIADMK govt then, after Jayalalithaa's demise, he proved his leadership mettle by keeping intact the disparate groups popping up in AIADMK aiming power seat.

Come 2021, weighed down by high anti incumbency, AIADMK under EPS command lost the power race. Post the defeat, and new DMK govt's probe against certain prominent AIADMK leaders like SP Velumani over alleged corruption, the fissiparous tendencies in AIADMK took control of the party.

Under EPS leadership, the AIADMK fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with BJP's Annamalai taking the fight to AIADMK strongholds, EPS stature took a beating as the TN pole party saw a drastic drop in vote share to little over 20% from 30% in 2019 LS elections.

EPS Trouble Time

Though prior to 2026 Asembly elections, NDA, under the leadership of EPS, put up a united face against Stalin led DMK, the X factor of Vijay simply decimated AIADMK rise to another big low. And May 2026 marks a dark chapter in his profile:

​The Electoral Failure: While EPS won his own seat by a large margin, his leadership resulted in the party winning just 47 out of 167 seats. In politics, winning is the only currency, and EPS’s wallet is empty.

​Loss of the "Charisma War": EPS, a pragmatic administrator, has found himself eclipsed by the cinematic and cross-caste appeal of Vijay (TVK). To the AIADMK rank and file, EPS no longer looks like the "giant killer" who can take on the DMK or the rising TVK.

​Isolation: Once the "proxy" who became a "king," EPS is now increasingly isolated. The very regional satraps (like Velumani) who built his power base now view his leadership as a liability that would keep the party in the "wilderness of opposition" for another five years.

The King, therefore, now turns a contested leader.

Also Read: The "Double Dose" vs. EPS: Who are SP Velumani and CV Shanmugam?