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Azhagiri falls in line, says ready to accept brother Stalin as DMK chief
Azhagiri has been in political hibernation since his expulsion from the party in 2014 by the late Karunanidhi. The former union minister was sacked at the height of his fight with Stalin over establishing supremacy in the party.
Azhagiri has been in political hibernation since his expulsion from the party in 2014 by his father and party supremo M Karunanidhi. The former union minister was sacked at the height of his fight with Stalin over establishing supremacy in the party.
MK Azhagiri, the elder son of late DMK chief M Karunandihi, on Thursday said he was ready to accept his younger brother MK Stalin as his leader if he was allowed to return to the DMK.
Speaking to reporters in Madurai, Azhagiri said the DMK’s current leadership -- a reference to Stalin -- was not willing to re-admit him despite his requests and that the party did not consist just of the General Council, which elected Stalin as the DMK President on Tuesday, as the “genuine party cadres” were with him.
Asked if he would accept Stalin’s leadership, Azhagiri said: “If I am in the party, then I will”, reported IANS.
He had publicly stated earlier that he could not consider anyone other than Karunanidhi, who died in a Chennai hospital on August 7, as his leader.
Azhagiri, a former minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, was expelled from the party just ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections after differences with his father in an apparent turf war with Stalin.
Indicating a fresh succession war in the DMK, he had on August 13 claimed that all “loyal” party workers were with him and accused Stalin of blocking his return to the party.
In a show of strength, Azhagiri is preparing to organise a rally in which he says over 100,000 people would take part.
On August 27, he warned in Madurai that if the DMK leadership did not take him back, then its leadership will have to face “consequences”. He did not elaborate.
He had also claimed that if he was not readmitted into the DMK, the party leaders would face a similar defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha election like in the last Parliament and assembly polls. He may work against the DMK in the by-elections in two assembly constituencies: Tiruvarur (fell vacant after Karunanidhi’s death) and Tiruparankundran (vacant after the death of AIADMK lawmaker AK Bose)
