The DMK’s hopes of regaining power in Tamil Nadu suffered a setback with MK Alagiri, the estranged elder son of party president M Karunanidhi declaring that the newly formed DMK-Congress alliance would not be able to defeat the AIADMK Government led by Jayalalithaa in the upcoming Assembly elections. He also declared that the AIADMK would win the 2016 assembly election.
“The DMK-Congress alliance do not have any credible policies. Right now nobody can defeat the AIADMK,” Alagiri told a Tamil TV Channel. Alagiri’s comments has shocked the DMK leadership and forced Karunanidhi to issue a letter to party cadre asking them to ignore Alagiri and his remarks.
“Such a statement is completely unacceptable. He has been using my name for his betrayals. It is condemnable. I appeal to party cadre not to consider his comments. Ignore him and his remarks,” a shocked Karunanidhi said in the letter to party cadre which was published in Murasoli, the DMK mouthpiece.
Alagiri was blunt in his observations and comments. This is the first time he is coming out in the open about the possible defeat of the DMK. Though he has been suspended from the party for the last two years, he had not made any comments against Karunanidhi. But in his interview to the TV channel he opened up and blamed younger brother M K Stalin and the latter’s family for hijacking the DMK leadership.
“Karunanidhi has been totally side-lined in the party and it is Stalin and his family members who are running the show,” charged Alagiri. He also said that so long as Stalin was projected as the leader, the party could not win any election.
Though Alagiri does not have a mass base all over Tamil Nadu, he has a dedicated group of followers in southern districts of Tamil Nadu, according to political analysts Radha Rajan and Sundar Das. Both of them are of the view that Alagiri could make a lot of difference to the chances of DMK. Bhanumathi Swaminathan, a Madurai based corporate banker too is of the view that Alagiri’s stance could upset the DMK juggernaut.
It is being pointed out that the DMK lost the 2001 assembly election only because of Alagiri. Since his followers were not accommodated in that election, Alagiri ordered the cadre to work against the official party candidates. Many including Palanivel Rajan, the then Speaker of the House fell by the wayside as Jayalalitha romped home though she had been convicted by a special court in one of the corruption cases. There was no anti-incumbency feeling against the DMK government at that time.
The DMK was obliterated in the 2014 lok Sabha elections by the AIADMK with Alagiri keeping away from active politics. Interestingly, Karunanidhi had felt the need to bring Alagiri back to politics and efforts were on through the beautiful Selvi, younger sister of Alagiri. But DMK insiders said it was Stalin who stood against that move and Karunanidhi had to fall in line.