CHENNAI: DMK strongman in Madurai and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s elder son, M K Azhagiri, on Tuesday took charge of the party’s campaign for the Thirumangalam Assembly constituency by-election. The DMK high-level committee gave him the responsibility.
Azhagiri is entrusted with the onerous task of winning the by-election without the support of two Left parties, which are in the opposition camp now.
Winning the seat would help the DMK project a positive image for the Lok Sabha polls as well as tide over, to an extent, the negative impact of power cuts and price rise.
DMK leaders have zeroed in on A Latha Adhiyaman, the widow of former MLA Adhiyaman and a member of the party’s general council as well as the Thirumangalam municipality councilor, as the nominee for the by-election.
Announcing this, Karunanidhi called upon DMK cadre and allies to take this by-election as a forerunner to the Lok Sabha elections and work vigorously for a win.
Karunanidhi said the party had sought PMK’s support for the by-election. However, he did not say anything about the PMK’s response to the call.
When a journalist asked whether he was hesitating to face a by-election at this juncture, Karunanidhi smiled and said, “This smile is my answer to your question.” He reiterated that the by-election was announced without consulting the government.