With DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi spending the day in Kauvery Hospital where he was rushed to, later on Friday, after his blood pressure dropped, the crowds waiting outside his house in Gopalapuram shifted venue to Alwarpet.
From time to time, the crowds would shift to make space for the vehicles of the steady stream of visitors, family and VIPs, allowing their vehicles to inch past, and then gather together again, seamlessly as if there had been no disruption.
While a few DMK cadre were present through the night on Friday and stayed until the morning, standing outside the hospital, as members of the family waited anxiously inside the hospital, news came that his condition was improving and his blood pressure had settled. Rajya Sabha member M.K. Kanimozhi, DMK working president M.K. Stalin and family, former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, T.R. Baalu and A. Raja, who were there throughout the night, left in the morning.
TNCC president Su. Thirunavukkarasar, who came out of the hospital around 2.45 a.m. on Saturday, broke the news of the ‘improving condition’ of the leader.
The cadre indulged in occasionally shouting slogans, the popular ones being “ ezhundhu vaa thalaivaa ezhundhu vaa' (rise and lead us), and " vaazhga vaazhga vaazhga ve " (Long live). Apart from this, their cries of “ thalaivaa ” rent the air regularly, giving them a purpose to being there. A number of them were supremely confident that their leader would return home after a full recovery. Later, they signed a banner wishing Mr. Karunanidhi the best of health.
Among the earliest visitors was Governor Banwarilal Purohit. He was there for about 10 minutes and met with Mr. Karunanidhi’s family members, including Mr. Stalin, Ms. Selvi and Ms. Kanimozhi, besides the doctors, and enquired about his health. Family members kept going in and out of the hospital through the day, and their words of reassurance, even if only a few and far between, enthused those waiting outside.
Nirmala, Azad visit
Winding up her assignment at Avadi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a quick visit to the hospital where she met the family members and doctors, expressing her wishes for Mr. Karunanidhi’s recovery. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who was accompanied by Mukul Wasnik, also met with the family members of the DMK Chief at the hospital. S. Gurumurthy, editor of Thughlak magazine, who also visited Mr Karunanidhi in the hospital came outside to tell the media: “He is not just a good leader of the DMK but has also been a good leader of the state.” CPI leader Mutharasan met with the family. There were others, trying to make the most of the situation. On the road, there were people selling party memorabilia, and cashing in on the crowds, a number of vendors also put up shops selling tea and snacks on the roadside. Police security was tightened in and around the hospital.
The announcement, through a press release from the hospital, that Mr. Karunanidhi’s condition was “stable with ongoing medical support” set the adrenaline pumping for those on the road outside the hospital, getting ready to spend yet another night out in the open.
(With inputs from Vivek Narayanan, Serena Josephine M., Poorvaja Sundar, and T. Madhavan)
