Paper short abstract:

Two populist styles have been prominent features of party politics in Tamil Nadu since the 1960s. This paper shows how populism has been remarkably resilient and has been adapted to new circumstances.

Paper long abstract:

The literature on party politics in Tamil Nadu published in the 1990s identified two traditions of populist politics in the state. The two leading political parties in the state, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) and the All-India Anna DMK (AIADMK), are each associated with a populist style. I argue that while this categorisation of competing populist styles is still very useful for interpreting state politics there has been some change recently. I show that in the last decade the DMK has adjusted its populist appeals in order to better connect with lower status groups, a constituency usually linked to the AIADMK. Also, the AIADMK has re-worked its populist appeals to include references to economic themes in ways that appeal to higher status voters while still reaching out to its longstanding supporters. I conclude that populism is a flexible ideological format that can be used to manage political tensions created by economic change.