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Is Kanimozhi being sidelined within DMK by Stalin?
After rendering his brother MK Alagiri irrelevant in the succession race, MK Stalin had taken over as the president of the Dravidian party after the death of their father Muthuvel Karunanidhi last year.
A new cold war seems to be brewing within the first family of the DMK, if internal sources in the party are to be believed.
After rendering his brother MK Alagiri irrelevant in the succession race, MK Stalin had taken over as the president of the Dravidian party after the death of their father Muthuvel Karunanidhi last year.
Stalin’s grip on the party consolidated further after he helped the DMK-led alliance sweep 38 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu earlier this year. The DMK won 24 Lok Sabha seats on its own, making it the third-largest parliamentary party in the crucial lower house of Parliament.
One ramification of the stupendous success of the DMK in the LS polls was the elevation of Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi to the critical DMK youth wing secretary’s position. Critical because Stalin had held the position till the age of 64 before being elevated as the working president and eventually the president of the party.
So, Udhayanidhi occupying the same position was seen as a signal to the party cadre on the likely succession plans in the DMK.
Udhayanidhi began to carve out a circle of supporters for himself immediately after his elevation and undertook moves to consolidate his position.
A senior DMK leader, who did not want to be named, pointed out that the first meeting of the party’s district secretaries was held in the youth wing office ‘Anbagam’ in Teynampet, instead of the traditional party headquarters at Anna Arivalyam.
Also, the district secretaries were asked by the high-command to conduct public meetings which were to be addressed by Udhayanidhi. A massive membership drive was also launched specifically for the Youth Wing.
Udhayanidhi was also made the managing director of the powerful Murasoli trust, which controls various assets of the DMK including the eponymous party mouthpiece, apart from significant real estate in the form of party offices across the state.
However, one such move by Udhayanidhi to further consolidate his position through a proposal to create a new women’s youth wing in the party was seen to have triggered off a tussle within the Karunanidhi family.
This is because the DMK already has a women’s wing led by Stalin’s step-sister Kanimozhi who is also the party’s MP from Toothukudi and seen as its face in New Delhi. Kanimozhi had sided with Stalin in the intrafamily fight against Alagiri.
But the proposal for a new women’s youth wing was seen as venturing into a territory controlled by Kanimozhi. Also, the youth wing’s relaxed entry norms that instead of having to be under the age of 30, now those who are 35 years old could join the youth wing including the proposed women’s wing seems to have fuelled the feud more.
A supporter of Kanimozhi in the party questioned the need to create a separate youth women’s wing.
“After all Kanimozhi is our Thalaivar (president) Karunanidhi’s daughter. When Karunanidhi was alive, he had ensured adequate space and importance to Kanimozhi was given in the party. But, we feel the current leadership is sidelining our leader for unknown reasons,” the supporter said.
RS Bharathi, the DMK’s organising secretary, however, denied there was any conflict within the party’s first family.
“There is no tussle between Udhayanidhi and his aunt Kanimozhi. Outsiders want to create trouble within the DMK and thus are spreading fake information that Kanimozhi is being sidelined,” Bharathi said while speaking to HT.
He also said that the DMK’s youth wing has no concrete plans to form a separate women’s group.
“We have just revised the highest age to join the youth wing,” Bharathi said.
The DMK youth wing’s deputy secretary M Subramanian, who is also an MLA, echoed Bharathi’s views.
“We have no such plans. The party’s focus is on bringing more youth into the party,” he told HT.
Attempts made by HT to contact Kanimozhi were unsuccessful.
Raveendran Duraisamy, a noted political analyst, said that despite the denials, all is not well within the first family of DMK.
“It is evident that after the elevation of Udhayanidhi, the importance of Kanimozhi is reduced. After adverse reactions to reports about the formation of a new young women’s group under the youth wing, it seems the DMK has stopped the move, for now. But, Kanimozhi had expressed her dissatisfaction several times,” said Duraisamy.
He also pointed out that Kanimozhi did not participate in the party’s campaign for the parliamentary and assembly by-elections.
“Unlike in the LS polls where she aggressively campaigned, her services were not used much in the Vellore LS poll held in August. Both in the Nanguneri and Vikravandi assembly seat by-polls, Kanimozhi campaigned for a mere two hours,” said Duraisamy.
“During the critical time of the by-polls, she went to Serbia for attending an inter-parliamentary meet. Nanguneri is the place where Kanimozhi mother’s OBC Nadar caste are high in number. But, she chose not to focus there. The AIADMK candidate defeated DMK’s ally Congress party candidate,” said Duraisamy.
Bharathi, however, defended Kanimozhi’s absence from the campaign trail.
“She went as a DMK representative to the inter-parliamentary meet in Serbia and was thus not in a position to campaign for party candidates in Nanguneri and Vikravandi by-polls. Too much should not be read into it,” he said.
However, Stalin’s grip on the party is continuing to strengthen.
On Sunday, the DMK’s General Council gave additional powers to the party president which was earlier held by general secretary K Anbazhagan, according to the party’s constitution.
“As the president, he can remove or add anyone to the party,” a single line resolution passed by the DMK General Council read.
Duraisamy said for now Stalin’s hold on the party is unquestioned.
