DMK creates post to reward Azhagiri

According to a statement issued by Anbazhagan,now the State Finance Minister,Azhagiri has been appointed as the organising secretary of the party for the southern districts,a post that is big enough to accommodate the fast-rising star of DMK. While he has held his sway in the region since 1989 when he shifted base from Chennai,the anointment officially makes him the top party official in the southern districts,an all-important post at a time when the general elections are just a few months away.

The announcement was not a surprise as Karunanidhi himself had made it clear that Azhagiri would be rewarded for his ‘performance’ in the Thirumangalam bypoll in which DMK registered one of its biggest wins.

Though elder,Azhagiri was always under the shadow of M K Stalin,the prince-in-waiting who is said to be groomed by Karunanidhi to take over the party after him. He shifted his base to Madurai two decades ago when the DMK Government came to power,and upset senior party leaders through his attempts to consolidate power in the region,even though he did not have any direct authority within the party. The period also saw the worst factionalism that DMK ever witnessed so far,as party cadres fought each other on the streets of Chennai.

Unlike Stalin,who has been in the limelight for several decades,Azhagiri has not yet held any post within the party,though his influence spreads wide and is well-known. The two bypolls in Madurai region have solidified his credentials as a backroom operator.

The Thirumangalam bypoll was one of the most serious tests that the DMK and its Government had to face since coming to power in 2006,as the alliance that won them the election was in tatters and public image of both the party and its leaders was at the lowest. However,the party not only wiped out its last election’s deficit,but also managed to score a record victory,that made it easier for the party leadership to accord a plum post — even if it meant creating a new one — for Azhagiri.