DMK conference begins

The tenth State
conference of the DMK began here today with party chief M.Karunanidhi hoisting the party flag and speakers claiming that it would win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The 90-year-old Karunanidhi is likely to put his supporters in poll-battle mode for the Lok Sabha polls at the conference.
The conference comes days after a power tussle in Karunanidhi's family between his son elder son M K Alagiri and Stalin, which subsequently led to the suspension of the former, party's strongman in the southern district of Madurai.
Conference organiser K.N.Nehru claimed the conference would prove to be a turning point for the party and it would emerge triumphant in the Lok Sabha polls and also the next assembly elections.

Two district presidents from southern districts of Tuticorin and Dindigul were among those given importance to address the meeting immediately after the flag hoisting, probably to indicate that the party cadres were with the Stalin faction in South Tamil Nadu.

The turnout for the conference was very impressive, and the DMK chief had to slowly wade through the thick crowd of his partymen.
Some party cadres were unhappy with the "poor" security arrangements by the state police.
Unveiling of portraits of various Dravidian leaders was the highlight of the morning function.
Some speakers lambasted the media for reportedly spreading the rumour that DMK had been isolated for the Lok Sabha polls. They said DMK was ready to face the elections alone,and it was confident that the people would ally with the party, enabling it to win all 39 seats in the state and the lone seat in Puducherry.

Earlier, Karunanidhi unfurled the party flag on a 90-feet-high flagmast, indicating his age.
The flagmast had been named after Ramajayam, brother of former DMK minister K.N.Nehru, who was murdered by an unidentified gang. Nehru turned emotional when he mentioned about Ramajayam who he said was behind the success of the party conferences held earlier at Tiruchirappalli.