Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (transl. Liberation Panther Party; abbr. VCK), formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India or the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam (transl. Dalit Panthers Movement; abbr. DPI), is an Indian social movement and political party that seeks to combat caste based discrimination, active in the state of Tamil Nadu. [5]

Pattali Makkal Katchi (transl. Proletariat's Party; abbreviated as PMK) is a Vanniyar caste party in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by S. Ramadoss in 1989 for the Vanniyar caste in northern Tamil Nadu. [2] [3] It is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). [4] It contests the elections with the "Ripe Mango" symbol. [5]

2024年3月28日 · Backed by Vanniyars, the PMK has always been at odds with the VCK, Thol Thirumavalavan’s party, which has a significant Dalit vote base. The campaign against inter-caste marriages has been a unifying factor for the PMK as well as several smaller OBC outfits in Tamil Nadu after the Dharmapuri riots.

2025年1月19日 · A political friction has surfaced again between the PMK and the VCK over the recent violence at Nemili village in Ranipet district involving two groups, wherein two youth sustained serious...

Chennai, Nov 24 : The principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, is in discussions with the VCK, a prominent Dalit political party, and the PMK, the political arm of the influential Vanniyar community, to expand its coalition ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

2021年1月5日 · The PMK has been accused of instigating honour killings to prevent inter-caste marriages involving Dalits. The PMK, however, accuses the VCK of stirring up violence.

2025年1月19日 · RANIPET: A petrol bomb attack on January 16 that left three men, claimed to be PMK cadres, with severe burn injuries, took a casteist and political turn on Saturday, with PMK president Dr...

2019年2月7日 · Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalavan on Wednesday said his party would not be part of an alliance in which the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) is a partner. He also said...

2022年11月15日 · For nearly a decade, the VCK boycotted electoral politics as “unrepresentative” and “corrupt”, but in 1999 it teamed up to fight polls with K. Moopanar who had walked out of the Congress to float his own party — the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC). Though the TMC fared poorly, the VCK fared reasonably well in terms of votes polled.

This chapter investigates how the largest Dalit (ex-Untouchable) party in Tamil Nadu—the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) or Liberation Panthers Party—navigates challenges associated with election finance, examining how VCK candidates mobilize adequate resources to sustain competitive campaigns.