Karunanidhi may announce Stalin as heir today
Arup Chanda
Tribune News Service

Chennai, December 15
Tomorrow is the D-day of the DMK as speculation is rife in political circles in Tamil Nadu that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi might announce M.K. Stalin, his third son and minister for rural development, as his political heir and elevate him to the post of deputy chief minister.

However, 54-year-old Stalin, who is the DMK’s youth wing chief, is unlikely to have a cakewalk as there are many senior DMK leaders waiting in the wings and an astute politician like Karunanidhi will not make such a mistake, said party sources.

But the two-day DMK youth wing mega-event with a turnout of more than five lakh party workers, which is being held at Tirunelveli, 600 kms from here, will certainly send out the strongest signal ever that the veteran Dravidian leader is keen on transferring responsibility to the younger generation.

This is the first time in more than 58 years of the DMK's existence that one of its wings is being allowed to hold a state-level conference of its own, signalling the importance that the party now attaches to Stalin in the scheme of things. Stalin was the youth wing's founder, but four years ago he was elevated as DMK deputy general secretary. He continues to oversee the youth wing's affairs.

Started in 1980, the youth wing is holding its first conference and it promises to be nothing but a massive show of strength on behalf of Stalin. For the past few years, Stalin had been touted as the only possible successor to Karunanidhi, and in a series of articles in the party organ, "Murasoli", the DMK patriarch himself has been writing in favour of a more youthful leadership.