'Karuna & Stalin: Why one when you can get both?'

DMK's crown prince M K Stalin will have to await his turn.
Party chief M Karunanidhi's statement in an interview to a television channel on Tuesday that son Stalin could assume the post “after him“ has ended, at least for now, any debate on the succession issue. The inference is that the 92-year-old leader is not looking to retire soon. By stating that it was Stalin who “wanted him to be CM“, Karunanidhi has put the onus on his son and deflected possible criticism that he should have made way for him.
With AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa sharpening her attack against Karunanidhi and his `tainted' relatives but largely sparing Stalin during the campaign, there was a feeling among sections in the party that its strategy to project the veteran leader as CM candidate could go awry.The 2G scam and the alleged interference by Karunanidhi's family members in the state administration were said to have impacted DMK's prospects in the 2011 assembly election and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.In fact, the DMK's vote share has stagnated since the 2006 elections while the AIADMK's vote share grew to almost twice that of its rival by 2014.
“Karunanidhi is in a Catch 22 situation. The election campaign is in its final phase. It is too late now for the DMK leader to back down. The transition should have taken place at least two months ago. The DMK would have had an advantage then,“ said analyst M Kasinathan.
Stalin supporters say a new face for the leadership just before the election process picked up could have triggered a surge of enthusiasm in the party and provided strong impetus to cadres. “Stalin did not face any corruption charge when he was Chennai may or or deputy chief minister,“ pointed out Kasinathan. That could have proved an advantage at a time when the AIADMK leader is constantly harping on corruption in the DMK clan and levelling charges against Karunanidhi, his daughter Kanimozhi and grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran.
However, seniors in DMK, who are Karunanidhi loyalists, argue that the father-son duo as CM and deputy CM aspirants would be perceived as a win-win combination -the experience and wisdom of the DMK chief backed by vigour and ideas from Stalin. Incidentally, in a recent interview to TOI, Stalin had said that he was not working towards becoming chief minister but merely doing his duty to the party .