As Alagiri flexes muscle, DMK rallies behind Stalin

A day after M.K. Alagiri dropped hints of a possible succession war within the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, the party executive council on Tuesday made it clear that it was solidly behind its working president M.K. Stalin. At the urgent meeting, convened to condole the death of party president and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin asserted himself as the next leader to steer the party.

The first executive meeting of the DMK after the death of Karunanidhi was expected to look at the future action plan of the party and formally elevating his younger son Stalin to the post of party president. However, the executive council, with a strength of around 460 people including the party seniors, MLAs, MPs and district secretaries, while mourning the death of their leader, made it apparent that there are no hurdles before Stalin to lead the party. 

“We are all with you. You have three hearts—yours, Karunanidhi’s and the one heart Karunanidhi borrowed from Annadurai on his death. There is nobody in Tamil Nadu who can defeat you,” party’s principal secretary Durai Murugan said during the executive meeting. 

Asking Stalin to lead the party, Durai Murugan said, “Dear Thalapathi (commander) we are all prepared to follow your orders.” Stalin is fondly addressed as "Thalapathi" in the party.

The executive council also said it is worried that external and internal forces are trying to divide the party. “The central government is trying to divide our party. There are people from inside who are also trying to divide the party,” DMK’s deputy general secretary Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan said. Her comments came a day after Alagiri dropped a bombshell saying most of Karunanidhi’s followers were with him and that he would reveal things at the right time.

The DMK seems to remain strong under Stalin, unlike the AIADMK which had suffered a vertical split after the death of its supremo Jayalalithaa. However, there is always a space for a factional feud in the DMK, given Stalin's leadership credentials. Though nearly 80 per cent of party's rank and file are with Stalin and every district secretary in all the 65 districts has toed his line, the party worries that an external or internal force can engineer a split.

Stalin chose not to respond to Alagiri's latest claims. He, however, opted for playing sympathy cards at the meeting. While delivering the condolence speech, he turned emotional narrating how the DMK managed to get the burial space for Karunanidhi at Marina. 

“I myself went to the residence of our chief minister to plead for the space for our leader’s burial. He refused. I held his hands and literally pleaded for space. Finally, the approval came from the Madras High Court. Thanks to the DMK legal wing,” Stalin said as he broke down.

Though the executive council asserted that Stalin is Karunanidhi’s political heir apparent, Alagiri is not likely to budge, according to sources.

On Tuesday, when everything seemed smooth for Stalin, Alagiri's supporters released a handwritten letter which, they claim, was penned by Karunanidhi to Alagiri. In the letter, Karunanidhi has hailed the qualities of Alagiri as a human being and as a father. 

The letter reads, “Those who have read the biography of Pattukottai Alagiri will remember my son Alagiri. When Alagiri was born, Periyar came down to my residence and held him on his lap. The shadow of these visuals is still in my heart. Like Kayalvizhi (Alagiri's daughter), not everyone will be blessed with a father like Alagiri. I know lots of people who envy Alagiri. The example for this is the poem penned by Kayalvizhi on her father. Alagiri has witnessed many battles, betrayals, oppositions and insults like me. What to do? He is a son like his father. Long live Alagiri.”

Releasing this letter, Alagiri's followers said that Karunanidhi wanted his elder son to be a leader like him. However, it remains to be seen if the siblings rivalry will take fresh turns or get buried.