Has Karunanidhi chosen his successor in Stalin?

The fight for supremacy within the DMK between brothers MK Stalin and MK Alagiri seems to have reached a decisive twist with the patriarch Karunanidhi ticking the latter off. The usual defiance, threats and tantrums by Alagiri and his men didn’t work this time. Following a show-cause notice to 20 of his associates for violation of party discipline last week, the DMK expelled a key sidekick on Sunday. The expelled party functionary, K Essakkimuthu was not a low-weight; he was the DMK’s Madurai urban presidium chairman. The action certainly looks prescribed by Stalin, but couldn’t have happened without Karunanidhi’s nod. Stalin for once, has been able to convincingly score over his elder brother in their fraternal war for power. Stalin’s provocation was triggered by the defiance of Alagiri and his men when he went to Madurai, the latter’s fiefdom, to interview office bearers for the party’s youth wing. Stalin had initiated this process a few months ago and has successfully completed it in other districts. Another party-toughie, Veerapandi Arumugam, a non-family member, had tried to upstage Stalin in the process in the western district of Salem, but retreated when the DMK headquarters asked him to fall in line. [caption id=“attachment_285490” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“In the recent expulsion of K Essakkimuthu, believed to be close to Alagiri,  Stalin has been able to convincingly score over his elder brother in their fraternal war for power. PTI”]  [/caption] When Stalin went to Madurai, many Alagiri men did not cooperate with him and also refused to attend a public meeting that he addressed. Alagiri went on a family tour overseas and said he had planned it earlier. Prominent among those stayed away received show-cause notices from the party headquarters in Chennai. Political and DMK observers feel that Stalin’s breakthrough in Madurai is a firm step in asserting his supremacy over his elder brother. Stalin usually avoids high profile public meetings in Madurai and leaves the territory to Alagiri. Reports from the district said that the DMK supporters, who are otherwise under the powerful spell of Alagiri, cheered Stalin at the public meeting, and that Stalin has been able to relax the tight grip of his brother on the party in the district. This is likely to lead to further consolidation for Stalin. It’s not just Stalin that is threatening Alagiri’s rein in Madurai. He is also under attack by the government and district officials. The district collector U Sagayam, a braveheart IAS officer, has asked him to appear before him on charges that he and his family members had damaged irrigation channels and destroyed cultivable land to build a college in the outskirts of the city. This is the third summons to him from the collector on the same issue. Another blow is the notice by the Madurai corporation on a cyber park owned by his family for alleged encroachment of government land. The corporation has said that if the owners of the building do not return the eight cents of land that it has encroached, the civic body will take it. Means, sizable part of the building will be demolished. That will be a seriously blow for Alagiri, who literally ruled Madurai with an iron-fist during the DMK regime. Apparently, Alagiri and his associates are peeved by the fact that the party, instead of siding with him at this time of crisis, is creating more trouble for him. Perhaps, Stalin knows this is the best time to seize the opportunity.