More than six years after he was expelled from the DMK, former Union Minister and elder son of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, MK Alagiri may float his own political outfit in Tamil Nadu. Media reports state that Alagiri’s party may be named Kalaignar DMK or KDMK.
Multiple sources confirmed to TNM that Alagiri has been in talks with the BJP about the possibility of being part of the BJP’s alliance in the state. Though an Indian Express report said that he could be part of the BJP alliance ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, Alagiri denied this to Dinamalar.
“He has been asking to be readmitted into the DMK for a long time now but they have stonewalled him. It is not confirmed that he will join the BJP alliance as the thinking won’t match, so it will most likely not happen. He will likely start a new party. He has support in Tamil Nadu. His first choice, however, would be DMK. We are not able to understand what Stalin is thinking,” says a source close to Alagiri.
A BJP source claimed that the party was in talks with several people and Alagiri was one of them. There is also speculation that Alagiri may meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to arrive in Chennai on November 21. However, Alagiri’s family member told TNM that there was no meeting scheduled with Amit Shah.
A source in the DMK, meanwhile, says the party has called for a high-level meeting on November 23, where Alagiri’s political moves may be discussed. However, those close to party President MK Stalin, including his son Udayanidhi, have made it clear that Alagiri will not be allowed to return to the DMK, says the source. “We think this joining BJP alliance is just posturing. He wants to come back to DMK and perhaps one way to ensure a return is to claim to go to the opposition,” a DMK source says.
The sibling rivalry between Alagiri and his younger brother MK Stalin over who would succeed Karunanidhi as leader of the DMK went on for decades. Alagiri, who was once considered DMK’s strongman in southern Tamil Nadu, was expelled in March 2014 when Karunanidhi was the leader of the party. He was first suspended in January 2014 and later expelled for anti-party activities. Karunanidhi had at the time alleged that Alagiri had said that Stalin would die within three months. "Alagiri came to my house on 24 January and complained regarding Stalin and troubled me and used harsh words. Alagiri told me Stalin will die in three months. No father can tolerate such words against his son,” the then DMK chief had said.
Since his expulsion, Alagiri has maintained a low-profile. Following Karunanidhi’s demise in August 2018, Alagiri had said that he was ready to accept Stalin’s leadership if he was inducted into the party.