Chennai: Ahead of next week's crucial General Council meeting, the DMK is at the crossroads with differences among Karunanidhi's family members over the succession issue, threatening to make the two-day meet at Coimbatore a stormy affair.
The succession war between Karunanidhi's sons M K Stalin and his Madurai-based sibling and Union Minister M K Alagiri is no public secret, but the 2G spectrum allocation scam and the electoral drubbing at the hands of arch rival AIADMK in the April 13 Assembly elections, has made matters worse.
Stalin is said to be upset over dent on the party's image caused by the 2G scam that has landed his step-sister Kanimozhi and Karunanidhi's trusted junior colleague, former Telecom Minister A Raja, in jail for their alleged roles.
It is also widely perceived that the two-day meet could see Stalin's supporters press for a much bigger role for their 'Thalapathy' (The General) in party affairs, even asking Karunanidhi to vacate the president's chair for his son.
However, the Alagiri camp is expected to put up stiff resistance and insist on Karunanidhi's continuance as party boss, a stand reaffirmed by Alagiri who recently said that Karunanidhi would be the party chief.
In a recent reported spat between Karunanidhi and Stalin, considered the 88 year-old patriarch's political heir apparent, over functioning of DMK's women's wing, the two are learnt to have made some strong remarks, before walking out of the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam.
Stalin reportedly pointed an accusing finger at supporters of Kanimozhi and Alagiri for the party's rough patch, but Karunanidhi put up an emotional defence of his daughter and blamed the Centre for her arrest in the 2G spectrum issue.
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