DMK succession row
While her father and half brother M. K. Stalin - the heir apparent - greeted her in person early in the morning, Union minister M. K. Alagiri was absent at the CIT Colony residence that sported a festive look as it welcomed a steady stream of cadres and well- wishers.
Alagiri has raised the banner of revolt a day after Karunanidhi virtually nominated Stalin as his heir. "The DMK is not a mutt," he said, reminding his father of his favourite counter against dynastic politics. His absence has fuelled speculation that he is still sulking as his claim to the top slot in the party has been vetoed by none other than his father.
According to party sources, the octogenarian had avoided meeting Alagiri, who was in town on Friday, apparently annoyed at his opposition to the succession plan.
Undeterred by Karunanidhi's announcement, Kanimozhi's loyalists carried out an advertisementblitzkrieg in Tamil dailies and magazines, besides a poster campaign, eulogising her as a pillar of the party and its future. Since last year, when she walked out of the Tihar Jail, her birthday has become an event in the annual calendar of the party, along with that of Karunanidhi, Stalin and Alagiri.
The birthday celebrations last year witnessed a clamour for elevating her in the party hierarchy. According to camp followers of Kanimozhi, she would like to be retained as the party's face in the national capital
