DMK meet: Stalin elected president unopposed, elevates Kanimozhi as party deputy general secretary

Besides Kanimozhi, the party also elevated I Periyasamy, Anthiyur Selvaraj, K Ponmudy and A Raja as deputy secretaries.

Duraimurugan and TR Baalu, two of the party’s senior leaders, were elected general secretary and treasurer of the party, respectively, as nobody else filed nominations for the posts.

The general council meeting elected them to the posts for the second time.

The meeting convened following elections to party posts at various levels across the state.

Stalin at the meeting

MK Stalin at the DMK meeting on Sunday, 9 October, 2022, where he was elected party president unopposed. (Supplied)

Elected unopposed, the 69-year-old younger son of late chief minister and former DMK chief M Karunanidhi sent a strong message, and did not forget to sound the 2024 poll bugle.

In his acceptance speech as the party’s president, Stalin, who appeared emotional, said the activities of some of his ministerial and party colleagues were giving him “sleepless nights.”

He also told them that a third eye (mobile phone) was watching.

The party president’s comments at the meet followed the backlash from the BJP and pro-Hindu outfits over A Raja’s controversial speech about Hindus.

The recent speech of minister K Ponmudy about free bus travel was also under this purview.

Stalin asked the party leaders and ministers to exercise caution while making public speeches. “We don’t have any personal space now. Every place except our bedroom and washroom is a public space now,” he said.

Considering the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Stalin asked his party cadres and office-bearers to start working. He also asked them to set up an inclusive booth committee for the elections.

“The DMK-led alliance should win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the 2024 elections. The BJP will stoop to any level. Not having anything to show anything concerning their performance, the BJP will spread lies about our party. They are suffering as their agenda — divisive politics — is not working in the state. The AIADMK, split into four, doesn’t have any ideology except for opposing the DMK,” Stalin said at the meeting.

Through National Education Policy and entrance exams, the Sanatana forces were plotting to “send our children back to do the work they once did”, Stalin added.

Further, he said that the DMK was not a tree but a fortress made with stones. He added that those who pelt stones at the fortress do not weaken it.

Kanimozhi, Opposition, and others react

K Kanimozhi. (Supplied)

Kanimozhi, who is already an MP and the party’s women’s wing head, was elevated as one of the deputy general secretaries by the general council. She replaced Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, who retired from active politics in September.

In her speech at the meeting, Kanimozhi said she saw Stalin in her father’s place. “After Karunanidhi’s death, the party’s archenemies expected a vacuum; Stalin stood firm and tall, toppling the enemy’s empire. I see him in the place of my father, and I will always stand behind him,” she said.

The Central government recently appointed Kanimozhi the chairperson of the Parliamentary standing committee on Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

The announcement invited backlash from the Opposition, who called it yet another example of dynastic rule.

Kovai Sathyan, a spokesperson of the AIADMK, told South First that the DMK divided all the top posts within the Karunanidhi family.

“There are better leaders like Minister of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Geetha Jeevan who have the eligibility to become the deputy general secretary. However, in the DMK, one should have the eligibility of coming from Karunanidhi’s family to get a posting. There is no democracy within the party; it is yet another example of dynastic rule,” he said.

Hitting back at Stalin’s comment at the meeting that the AIADMK’s ideology was to oppose the DMK, Sathyan told South First that ensuring the DMK was shown the doors was one of the responsibilities of the AIADMK because its founder, MG Ramachandran (MGR), had called Karunanidhi “Theeya Sakthi”: a destructive force.

Asked why Stalin had to say this in the meeting, Sathyan said the recent developments inside the AIADMK — including adopting single leadership — had started to haunt him.

Opposing family politics has always been one of the main agendas of the Tamil Nadu BJP. However, Karu Nagarajan, the party’s state vice-president, was less vocal when South First contacted him.

“Kanimozhi and other leaders have been elevated as the deputy general secretaries at the meeting. I don’t want to comment on it much, as top leaders in the party need postings,” he said.

Pointed out Stalin’s comment that the BJP and its divisive politics were not working in Tamil Nadu, Nagarajan replied that it was the DMK doing divisive politics in the state by allowing its leaders to talk against one specific religion.

“Stalin had said he went sleepless because of the activities of some of his leaders. Our continuous fight against controversial speeches is reflected in today’s meeting. It is a victory for the BJP. Nobody can stop the growth of the BJP in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Sources from DMK, refuting these comments, told South First that those who talk about dynastic politics should also look at the other top leaders with top postings.

However, they also said the Opposition would keep crying foul as “our leader is doing a commendable job and is lauded by the people for it”.