MADURAI: No meeting between a son and his father can trigger such a wide range of emotional outburst in public sphere as much as former DMK Union minister M.K. Alagiri calling on his father M. Karunanidhi.
Soon after Alagiri met his father at Gopalapuram residence in Chennai on Thursday, supporters of ‘Anjanenjan’ went into celebratory mode bursting crackers in Madurai.
They exulted stating there is no difference between family (Karunanidhi’s) and the party (DMK), and today’s meeting nearly after two-and-a-half years only marks the beginning of Alagiri’s re-entry into the party.
“We have been waiting patiently for this occasion despite Stalin supporters repeatedly trying to finish our political career in DMK,” said Alagiri’s loyalists.
The staunch loyalists and the former Madurai city district presidium chairman K. Esakimuthu said they have persuaded Alagiri to meet party chief to express his solidarity to face the election under Karunanidhi’s leadership.
“Anjanenjan (Alagiri) is not bothered about party posts; he is concerned only about welfare of DMK and Kalaignar. Even though we were expelled from the party, we all will work for DMK in the coming election,” he said.
However, Alagiri downplayed the meeting with his father. “We only discussed about personal issues, not about politics,” Alagiri told Deccan Chronicle over phone.
Stalin supporters upset?
On the other hand, supporters of Stalin were upset over this development. Many senior-level DMK functionaries in southern districts abruptly ended the election meeting after they heard the news.
“Only in the last two years, we have been systemically working with people to strengthen the party base as per the guidance of Stalin. If the high command inducts Alagiri at this juncture, it will demoralise the party functionaries,” said a senior DMK functionary from Virudhunagar.
With DMDK aligning itself with PWA, the high command might fear any criticism from Alagiri against the party would affect the winning prospects in the election.
“Definitely Alagiri is capable of doing it which we had witnessed in the 2014 Lok Sabha election,” said a senior DMK functionary, who shifted his loyalty to Stalin camp after the high command sidelined Alagiri.
But that doesn’t mean inducting him into the party again is a solution because Alagiri is known for taking revenge against party functionaries. However, some functionaries opined that the high command can include him in the party, but shouldn’t confer on him any post.
Azad-Karunanidhi seat-sharing talks today
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad will meet DMK leader M. Karunanidhi on Friday to discuss seat allocation for the party for the Assembly elections.
He will be accompanied by AICC general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu Mukul Wasnik, and TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan. The Congress contested in 63 seats in the 2011 Assembly elections and partymen are hopeful of getting more than 50 seats as it is the only major party in the alliance.
The Indian Union Mulsim League is the first party to get seat allocation in the DMK front. It has been allotted five seats but the seats are yet to identified. The other Muslim outfits the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and Social Democratic Party of India are waiting for their turn to hold negotiations.
