As countdown for the election of the DMK president necessitated by the demise of M Karunanidhi began on Tuesday, so also the internal wrangling in the party though in a silent note.
It is almost certain that MK Stalin, the second son of Karunanidhi, would be elevated as the party chief without any challenge. All members of the General Council
which elect the president have been handpicked by Stalin over the last five years to facilitate his smooth elevation.
But Stalin may have to face a turbulent September as his elder brother M K Alagiri has declared a fight-to-the-finish war to take control of the party.
Karunanidhi’s favourite daughter Selvi, hitherto confined to the drawing room meetings is being fielded by the family members to prevent the situation from going out of control.
There are reports that some of the local satraps may dump Stalin and cross over to Alagiri camp in the near future.
The General Council meeting for August 28 has been convened by K Anbazhagan, the 96-year-old general secretary of the party. The agenda for the meeting is to elect the president and treasurer and also to approve the report submitted by the audit committee.
Stalin has been holding the post of treasurer in addition to his responsibilities as the working president. Sources in the DMK said that Durai Murugan, the principal secretary of the party would be elected to the crucial post of treasurer.
But what has caused jitters in the DMK leadership is the announcement by loyalists of Alagiri, the Madurai-based elder son of Karunanidhi that, they would take out a silent rally in Chennai on September 5. The announcement came immediately after the declaration by the DMK about the August 28 meeting.
P M Mannan, an Alagiri loyalist told reporters that the silent rally would be led by Annan (big brother) Alagiri as a mark of respect to the late Karunanidhi.