Karunanidhi had recently publicly acknowledged Stalin to

be his heir-apparent over his elder brother Union Minister M K Alagiri, who reacted sharply to it, saying DMK was "not a mutt" where a successor could be anointed by the incumbent pontiff. The succession saga goes a long way in the DMK ranks and it reached a flashpoint few years ago by way of a survey in Tamil daily Dinakaran, promoted by Karunanidhi's grandnephews, the Maran brothers. The survey had not only ranked Stalin ahead of Alagiri, the party's Madurai strongman, but also given him very low ratings, prompting angry reactions from his supporters who were allegedly behind torching the daily's office in Madurai, killing three employees. Khushboo is no stranger to controversy as she had some years ago stirred up a controversy over her remarks on pre-marital sex, prompting some groups to file court cases against her.