Few among the thousands of DMK cadres, leaving the gala Stalin show at Nellai in south Tamil Nadu would have dared to entertain doubts about who would succeed Kalaignar. The two-day youth conference on December 15 and 16 was meant, ostensibly, to draw young cadres to the DMK. But sycophantic speeches by party leaders extolling Stalin’s virtues and his massive cut-outs that crowded the Nellai landscape made clear the real reason for the event much before Karunanidhi’s cryptic comment on the succession issue, which finally brought the curtains down.

Much as he would like to anoint his son, whom he has groomed for more than three decades as successor, Karunanidhi, the shrewd politician that he is, would prefer to make his moves rather carefully, if only to ward off allegations that he was promoting dynastic rule. The DMK patriarch would like to be seen as being democratic and fair when the decision on succession is finally made.

Stalin’s claim to fame was his arrest in the crackdown following Emergency, when he also had his political baptism. His climb within the party has been slow and steady, first as the youth wing leader, a post which he held for several years, and then as the deputy general secretary of the party, a post given to him a few years back. But Stalin continued to hold the post of chief of the youth wing of the party, wielding a strong influence on the rank and file, on postings and now as the powerful Local Administration Minister, manipulating postings within the administration and the cabinet.

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