Former Union Minister and expelled DMK leader M.K. Alagiri on Tuesday said he would play a role in the 2021 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu. However, he dismissed the likelihood of joining the BJP, saying he cannot respond to rumours.
After paying a condolence visit to the house of S.R. Gopi, a DMK functionary in Madurai whose brother S.R. Marudu died recently, he told reporters that he would very soon hold talks with his supporters and take a decision.
Asked about the possibility of floating his own party, Mr. Alagiri, the estranged elder brother of DMK president M.K. Stalin, said, “Whatever it is, I will discuss with my supporters and let you know.”
When questioned if it was true that the DMK planned to give a plum post to his son Durai Dayanidhi, he replied in the negative. After a pause, he said he would not remain silent like he was during the last Lok Sabha elections but would be active in pre-poll work soon.
Meanwhile, a close confidant of Mr. Alagiri spoke to The Hindu , saying that he (Alagiri) only wished to rejoin the DMK since the Lok Sabha elections got over, although he had been getting invitations from other parties.
With elections fast approaching, political parties and leaders had been in touch with Mr. Alagiri, he said. “Being the son of late DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi and as a leader who had been instrumental in the victory of the DMK in the southern districts in the previous elections, Mr. Alagiri still commands the rank and file of the party,” he insisted.
Another source close to Mr. Alagiri claimed that (in the event of not being readmitted in the DMK) he would float a party in the name of “Kalaignar DMK” and contest in the Assembly elections.
