Karunanidhi’s son MK Alagiri to form new political party before TN polls; may meet Shah

As Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Chennai on November 21, several media reports have stated that M K Alagiri, the elder son of late M Karunanidhi, and brother of DMK president M K Stalin will meet him. The exiled DMK leader is set to launch his new party ahead of the next year's assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.

MK Alagiri to launch a new political party?

While speculation that Alagiri may ally with the BJP has been refuted, as per latest inputs, a senior BJP leader was earlier quoted by a prominent daily stating that the meeting between Shah and Alagiri is likely to happen on November 21 in Chennai. “It is likely to be a one-to-one meeting,” the leader said. However, Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan has claimed that he is not aware of the talks. 

Alagiri’s new political outfit may be called ‘Kalaignar DMK’ or ‘KDMK.’ Alagiri’s son Dayanidhi may also back the new party. “Like Stalin’s son Udayanidhi who heads the DMK youth wing, let Dayanidhi also assume the same position in KDMK,” the report said quoting a source. The sibling rivalry between the two sons of Karunanidhi has been around for two decades. Alagiri was removed from DMK in 2014 for anti-party activities.

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Meanwhile, the relations between the ruling AIADMK and BJP have been strained after the ruling party in Tamil Nadu on Monday said it would not allow the latter's 'Vel Yatra' and permit attempts towards what it called 'politics of vote bank' based on religion.

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Amid remarks by AIADMK ministers defending denial of permission for the yatra in view of COVID-19 and BJP leaders insisting on going ahead with it, the ruling party's organ 'Namadhu Puratchithalaivi Amma' said the state was a cradle of Dravidian ideology and there was no room for bigotry. The BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as baseless and absolutely devoid of truth. At such a time.

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Assembly elections are due during April-May 2021 in Tamil Nadu. DMK lost power to archrival AIADMK in 2011 and could not snatch the reins of power from the ruling party in 2016 Assembly elections as well.

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