M K Stalin does 'resignation drama' after DMK's poll rout

“Stalin offered to resign. Our leader, Karunanidhi, said it was not needed. The party needs Stalin. He has to take care of the party’s future. After we persuaded him, he has agreed not to resign,” said Durai Murugan, deputy general secretary of DMK.

Stalin’s supporters had gathered in front of Karunanidhi's residence at Gopalapuram here and demanded the party not accept his (Stalin’s) resignation.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections were the first which the DMK contested under Stalin, who campaigned across Tamil Nadu, while his father chose only a few important seats to campaign. Stalin played a key role in deciding his party's alliance strategy for the Lok Sabha election and spearheading the poll campaign.

On his part, M Karunanidhi blamed the media as one of the key reasons for the defeat and said his party would form a high-level committee to discuss other factors that caused the party's defeat.

“He (Stalin) took my advise and changed his stand,” said Karunanidhi.

Last year, Karunanidhi had openly expressed his wish that Stalin should be his political heir, following which a high level drama took place inside the DMK, including a “political” war between Stalin and his elder brother M K Alagiri.