Chennai: On Sunday, the working president of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) M. K. Stalin filed his nomination for the post of party president, ahead of the party’s general council on Tuesday.
Along with Stalin, the party’s principal secretary Duraimurugan also filed nomination for the post of treasurer.
Last week, the party’s general secretary had announced that DMK’s general council would be held on 28 August at Anna Arivalayam (party’s headquarters) to elect the “party’s president and treasurer”. While the nominations could be filed on Sunday, the scrutiny would be held on Monday before the elections, the party had said.
As the 65 district secretaries of the DMK proposed the nomination of Stalin, senior leader A.Raja said that Stalin and Duraimurugan will be “elected unanimously.”
Earlier in the day, Stalin paid his respects at the memorials of DMK founder C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi before heading to the party headquarters to file his nomination.
The executive committee of the DMK had met on 14 August to condole the demise of the party chief Karunanidhi and pledged its support for Stalin. Duraimurugan had announced that “Stalin, the working president, will soon lead us as the president of DMK.”
The DMK party bylaws state that “the members of the general council shall elect the president, the general secretary and the treasurer.”
“The elected president will nominate three deputy general secretaries, of which one shall be SC/ST and one shall be a woman and one from the general pool. The members of the general council shall also elect four members to the audit committee.”
Stalin was made the working president of the party in January 2017 after Karunanidhi’s deteriorating health did not allow him to preside over party affairs.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, just days after claiming the support of the “true loyalist cadres”, the estranged elder brother of Stalin, M.K. Alagiri said that the DMK would face threat after his “rally in Chennai on 5 September.”
He said: “I have never desired for any post in the party, even when thalaivar (leader) was alive. Why would I seek a post, now? .... (I have) never aspired to become the DMK president; Stalin is in haste to claim the post.”
In January 2014, the late Karunanidhi expelled Alagiri for “anti-party activities”.