In an interview to ToI’s Julie Mariappan, DMK patriarch Karunanidhi’s rebel son MK Alagiri, who has since been shunted out of the party for differences with younger brother and DMK heir MK Stalin, has said that it would be a mistake for the DMK to declare Stalin as the CM candidate.
Just last week, Chennai-based research centre People’s Studies released results of a survey which showed that Stalin was a more preferred CM candidate than Karunanidhi. DMK circles have been abuzz about the possible announcement as CM candidate.
Here is what Alagiri told ToI,
“People will vote only for Kalaignar (Karunanidhi),“ Alagiri told TOI, alleging the role of Stalin's relatives in the survey that projected a wave of support for him.
“By projecting Stalin, it appears that my father himself is not bothered about destroying the party ,“ he said. Stalin neither has oratorical skills nor is he hard working like his father, Alagiri said.“People rallied behind Ka laignar in 1977 after Emergency , and in 1991 elections (when Karunanidhi was elected from Chepauk despite a sympathy wave in favour of the CongressAIADMK combine following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi). He alone can safeguard the party , no one else can,“ Alagiri said.
“No one dares to oppose Stalin. All of them got favours from the DMK chief and they think they will get the same if they rally around Stalin and shower encomiums on him,“ Alagiri said. He went on to say that he was sacked from the party as he opposed the rejection of application of party workers to contest in the organisational polls. “I did raise my voice for them and got expelled,“ he said.
Accusing his brother of hankering after posts, Alagiri said, “I know how he got the mayoral post. When I got the cabinet berth in the Congress government, he cornered the deputy chief minister's post here. I am aware of his tactics,“ Alagiri said, refusing to talk about his return to the party .
Meanwhile, in an interview with TOI, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said that the party will contest at least 170 of the total 235 seats, and will not make the same mistake of giving a huge number of seats away to allies like it did last time.