Chennai : In a clear sign of desperation to re-enter the DMK, late leader M Karunanidhi’s son M K Alagiri on Thursday said he was prepared to work under his younger brother M K Stalin’s leadership if he is admitted into the party from which he was expelled in 2014 on disciplinary grounds.
Alagiri, a former Union Minister and a key DMK figure in south Tamil Nadu, more so in Madurai, had been at loggerheads with Stalin and days after Karunanidhi’s death he had sounded the war bugle by claiming that loyal followers of his father were only with him. He had also declared that so long as Stalin was at the helm, the DMK would not be able to win any elections.
While he is preparing for a silent march in Chennai on September 5 to pay homage to Karunanidhi, hoping to convert the event into a show of strength, Alagiri appeared to have been rattled by the lack of visible support for his rebellion. On Thursday after holding a meeting of his motley group of supporters in Madurai, Alagiri said he was prepared to re-join the DMK to save the party but “they (Stalin & co) are unwilling to admit me”.
When specifically asked if he would accept Stalin’s leadership, he responded, “When I desire to join the party, I have to accept the leadership.”
At the same time, he claimed that over a lakh of his followers would participate in the Chennai rally. He also struck a discordant note saying the DMK general council was not the party as such. When asked about Stalin’s unanimous election as president of the DMK at its recent general council meeting, he said, “1,500 members of the general council do not form the entire party. The real cadres are with me.”
The DMK is keen on not striking any compromise with Alagiri, who had infamously told his father that Stalin would die prompting him to expel him from the party. For now the official line in the party is that they need not react to anything that Alagiri says as he is a persona non grata within the organisation.