Ramadoss has found ready ammunition in his efforts to project himself as a pan-Tamil leader — OBC reservation and the worsening ethnic strife in Sri Lanka. It is an image that is elbowing into Karunanidhi’s space. ‘‘Ulaga tamizharin thalaivar (leader of Tamilians the world over) used to be Karunanidhi’s title. Ramadoss is now eyeing it,’’ says a state Congress functionary. Ramadoss denies such suggestions, at least on record. ‘‘Karunanidhi is the supreme leader of Tamilians and I have no such ambitions,’’ he says.

But party MP K Dhanaraju is more candid. ‘‘The DMK is soft-pedalling these issues. We remain part of the UPA coalition at the Centre and the DPA in Tamil Nadu but will raise issues of Tamils wherever they are,’’ he says.

Ramadoss’ actions betray his impatience — he organised a seminar in Delhi on Sunday on OBC reservation, protested India’s reported supply of radars to Sri Lanka and on return to Tamil Nadu, demanded that the state government lead the way by implementing reservation in the private sector. His son, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, is helping his father in no small measure by firmly backing reservations in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The Lankan crisis is another opportunity — the PMK chief has called for New Delhi to intervene in some form. ‘‘We want our government to persuade Sri Lanka to continue with the peace process. We must realise that the interests of Tamils are involved,’’ Ramadoss says. His position is in contrast with the DMK’s tactic of leaving the entire issue to the Centre.

Observers of Tamil Nadu politics say the leader is worried over his weakening grip over the Vanniyars who catapulted the PMK in north central Tamil Nadu. The PMK was floated in the mid-80s from a caste association and its fortunes rose till the 2004 elections. ‘‘Continuously being in power since 1998, PMK has become more of a commercial enterprise than a political movement,’’ says researcher Dharamarajan.

The PMK was part of the NDA government and crossed sides just before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. In the run-up to the 2006 Assembly elections, the PMK settled for 31 seats in the DMK-led alliance and won only 18, areas considered Vanniyar strongholds. ‘‘We lost only because our opponents consolidated,’’ says Dhanaraju. But history is not on PMK’s side either: Tamil Nadu Toilers Party, a Vanniyar party, was prominent between 1950 and 1962 but disintegrated afterwards.

Ramadoss is looking for a turnaround, resuscitating the same issues that helped him establish the PMK.

Not that he admits it. ‘‘I am not doing anything for votes,’’ he protests. Tell that to the DMK.