People know only MK leads party: Kanimozhi

The wheel has come full circle for the DMK-Congress combine. In 2014, the 2G scam broke up the alliance between them and ruined both parties' chances during the Lok Sabha election. Less than two years later, Congress and DMK are back together and making a bid for the Tamil Nadu assembly.
A central figure in the 2G scam is Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK leader M Karunanidhi and head of the DMK women's wing.Kanimozhi spent about six months in Tihar jail after she was accused of benefitting illegally from the sale of spectrum. Although Jayalalithaa has made the 2G scam the focus of her attack on DMK, Kanimozhi believes it won't affect her party's chances. "Jayalalithaa shouldn't be talking corruption. Who is she to target us on 2G when she's been convicted in the Tansi case?" she asks.
Soft spoken yet full of energy, she sounds confident. Her jail term behind her, there's an air of quiet determination about Kanimozhi. She has been campaigning across western Tamil Nadu, impeccably dressed in brightly patterned saris, accompanying her father and addressing her own rallies. She's also been speaking at meetings organized by the Congress, trying to whip votes for the ally. "This government, it's in sleep mode," she says. "There's been no development, no infrastructure, no industrialization, farmers are suffering. We're focusing on this government's failures."
The anti-incumbency vote could just favour PWF-DMDK instead of DMK, but that's not something worrying Kanimozhi. "Jayalalithaa should be worried, not us. She is the one whose alliance partners aren't with her. A split in votes will be bad for her," she points out.
The question on everyone's mind is whether DMK can hope to win with 92-year-old Karunanidhi as its chief ministerial candidate instead of the relatively younger MK Stalin.
"Karunanidhi been campaigning, writing, responding to people as always. People know only he leads our party," she says, and adds, "Stalin is a good administrator and very hard working."
A loss this time will mean DMK will spend a decade out of power. "There's no such thing as do or die. It's a state election. We've lost before. As long as injustice against the depressed is a reality, as long as caste oppression and inequality continue, the Dravida movement will remain alive."
Does the BJP pose a challenge to the Dravida movement's ideology with its emphasis on Indian nationalism where Tamil identity takes a back seat? "There's no threat to Tamil nationalism," she says. "Shouting slogans such as Bharat Mata Ki Jai doesn't make you Indian. Why should I say mata or pita (mother or father)? Indian nationalism and Tamil nationalism can coexist. I am a non-believer, so I don't think Indian nationalism has to be Hindu," she says.