Stalin Elected DMK Working President, Sparks Leadership Change in TN Politics

Stalin Elected DMK Working President, Sparks Leadership Change in TN Politics

FastnewsJan 4, 2017
MK Stalin, DMK treasurer and son of M Karunanidhi, was elected the party’s ‘working president’, a post that was created for him in view of his father’s failing health. Stalin’s nomination to the post came at the general council meeting of the party earlier Wednesday and makes it clear that he is the successor to his father. The Hindu reported that party bylaws have been amended to make Stalin the ‘working president’.
Stalin, who served as deputy chief minister in the earlier 2006-2011 DMK regime, was also the mayor of Chennai city. His ascension to the top party post has come after several years of wait amid fears of a rebellion by his brother MK Alagiri. But now, those fears have been laid to rest as Stalin is expected to lead the party especially after its successive defeats in Assembly elections to the AIADMK.
Stalin’s election as the DMK working president comes at a time when his rival AIADMK also ushered in a leadership change. VK Sasikala, long-time aide to late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, was unanimously elected the AIADMK general secretary last week and is being prompted by a majority of party leaders to take up the chief minister’s mantle as well. With both leaders’ ascension to top party posts, Tamil Nadu is geared up to witness a new political rivalry after decades of the Karunanidhi-Jayalalithaa era.
93-year-old Karunanidhi, who had been admitted to hospital following throat infection and difficulty in breathing, was discharged in the last week of December and is recuperating at home. The general council meet, earlier scheduled for December 20, had to be cancelled after Karunanidhi was hospitalised.
Courtesy : indianexpress