DMK President M Karunanidhi today hinted that his younger son MK Stalin will succeed him. In the past, Stalin's elder brother and Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers MK Alagiri showed his displeasure over the same issue.
While speaking to 2,000 former Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) workers who have joined the DMK, Karunanidhi said, "I will work till my death for the upliftment of the Dalit community. After my lifetime it will be Stalin whom you should not forget. The answer for who after me is Stalin," he said.
Stalin, 59, son of Dayalu Ammal, Karunanidhi’s second wife, is the treasurer and youth wing leader of the party. When the DMK was in power in Tamil Nadu from 2006 to 2011, Alagiri was not given any ministerial position whereas Stalin was made the Deputy Chief Minister.
Stalin’s elder brother Alagiri has refused to accept the decision. In numerous occasions, Alagiri has said that he won’t accept any person other than his father, Karunanidhi, as his leader.
In one of the meetings in Coimbatore, he walked out last year and in 2007 when Maran family's Sun group paper 'Dinakaran' published a findings of an opinion poll, casting the DMK patriarch's younger son Stalin to be the most popular choice, Alagiri's supporters attacked Dinakaran's office leaving three people burnt.
Meanwhile, political commentators dismiss the announcement as a diversionary tactic by the DMK leader.
DMK is one of the key partner for United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the Centre.
