DMK headed for succession war

Sibling rivalry to fore in 2014

• MK Stalin, Karunanidhi’s favourite, diligently worked his way up the DMK hierarchy, holding party posts since youth. He was party’s treasurer and youth wing secretary for 3 decades
• MK Alagiri emerged in 2009 when the DMK won bypoll in Madurai. He was named party’s south zone organising secretary, which allowed him to wield considerable clout there
• Sibling rivalry came to fore in 2014 when Alagiri talked of Stalin’s death in three months, prompting Karunanidhi to expel him. After Chennai’s RK Nagar Assembly bypoll defeat last year, he said DMK can’t win any poll under Stalin

Will a bitter succession war erupt in the DMK again? This is the question the DMK workers are asking themselves as they prepare for life in the party after the death of their “Thalaivar” (leader) who held a vice-like grip over the organisation for half-a-century as its chief.

MK Alagiri and MK Stalin, the two sons of the DMK doyen, have been at loggerheads for years now before the former was expelled from the party in 2014, after a stint as a Union Minister in the UPA government.

Before his expulsion at the height of his succession battle with the younger sibling, Alagiri, known for his mercurial temper, had famously questioned if the DMK was a “mutt” where the pontiff could anoint his successor, an apparent reference to their father.

Alagiri, in political exile since his expulsion and living in Madurai, was with the family during Karunanidhi’s last days. A DMK leader said there was no chance of party getting caught in a succession battle again. “Every issue has been settled,” he said on condition of anonymity.

He said even as the DMK’s first family presented a picture of unity during the hospitalisation of Karunanidhi from July 28 till his death on August 7, they, including the “warring” brothers, held “open talks”.

“That controversy has come to an end. Every issue has been settled as all family members regularly spoke to each other during this period,” he said. Asked if Stalin will formally take over the reins of the party, he replied in the affirmative, insisting due steps will be taken for his ascension.

“That succession row will happen. The ruling BJP’s agenda is to weaken regional parties. Now they will try to weaken the DMK as Karunanidhi has gone and before him late J Jayalalithaa. They were the binding force in DMK and AIADMK,” said Shanmugaam at a Tamil TV channel. He feels Alagiri will now demand his due. To avert a succession battle, Stalin should give Alagiri and stepsister Kanimozhi a greater say in party affairs.