Amid power tussle, DMK leaders file nomination papers

Chennai: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday saw nomination papers filed for the top three posts in the party amid a continuing tussle for power between two sons of party supremo M. Karunanidhi.

Expected to be elected unopposed are Karunanidhi, the 91-year-old patriarch, as president for the 12th term, former finance minister K. Anbazhagan as general secretary and Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Stalin as treasurer, according DMK officials.

Party workers began collecting at the DMK headquarters in Chennai on Wednesday morning, and 60 district general secretaries filed nominations on behalf of the president, general secretary and treasurer.

As per party rules, each nomination paper was filed along with a sum of ₹ 25,000. The results will be announced on Friday.

Three days ago, Stalin dismissed rumours that he was aspiring for the post of general secretary, currently held by Anbazhagan, a veteran Tamil politician. “I condemn this strongly and deny such reports completely. Someone has spread such rumours with malicious intent,” Stalin said.

“I would like to state categorically that this has been done deliberately to create confusion among party ranks,” he added. Stalin said district secretaries had called on him to take his signature for filing his nomination papers for the post of treasurer.

“The post, however, does not matter. For all practical purposes, he is steering the party and is it not perceptible?” said a senior DMK leader, asking not to be named.

Two years ago, Karunanidhi named Stalin his successor, fuelling an ongoing fight for the top job between Stalin and Karunanidhi’s other son M.K. Alagiri.

In March 2014, Alagiri, a former Union minister, was expelled from the DMK for anti-party activity. On Sunday, Alagiri said he was willing to re-join party “if it reforms itself”.

Also thrown into the equation is Karunanidhi’s daughter, Kanimozhi, who has been charged in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Gnani Sankaran, a political commentator, said, “It looks like Karunanidhi is holding on to his presidential post as he fears that if he relinquishes it then Stalin —in order to save the party’s image—may throw Kanimozhi out of the party if she is convicted in the second generation spectrum case.”

Also named in the case are two other DMK stalwarts—A. Raja, former telecom minister, and Dayanidhi Maran, former textile and telecom minister— both of whom lost the Lok Sabha elections held last year.

PTI contributed to this story.