Alagiri - Can the strongman of Madurai actually shake Stalin's DMK rise?
From Union Cabinet berth to near political irrelevance, Alagiri’s career has seen many ups and downs.
In the days leading up to January 30 every year, the streets of Madurai come alive with colorful posters and banners. The city celebrates the birthday of its adopted son MK Alagiri, former Union minister and expelled DMK leader.
Born to DMK chief Karunanidhi and his second wife Dayalu Ammal, MK Alagiri is the eldest of the four siblings. Karunanidhi named his son after Pattukotai Azhagirisamy of the Self Respect Movement. Azhagirisamy’s fiery speeches left such an impression on the young Karunanidhi that he named his son after the leader.
A crisis manager, Karunanidhi sent Alagiri to Madurai in the 1980s to be in charge of Murasoli, the DMK’s mouthpiece, following friction between him and his brother MK Stalin.
Alagiri, a bank employee, reluctantly shifted to Madurai, which was his wife Kanthi’s hometown. Nine years later, Alagiri moved his base to the temple town permanently. Slowly, he emerged as the power centre in southern Tamil Nadu.
Fondly called ‘Anja Nenjan’ — which translates to ‘a man with a brave heart’— Alagiri once wielded enormous influence in the middle and lower-level cadre of the party. At the peak of his career, Alagiri was instrumental in holding the fort in not just Madurai, but 10 adjoining parliamentary constituencies.
For cadres in Madurai, Alagiri is like an elder brother who is easily accessible. He participates in family functions of party cadre and is a generous man who helps the poor. However, critics note that a lot of Alagiri’s influence was built using brute force and muscle power. He reportedly controlled the trading market of Madurai, and his associates relied on extortion, threats, and violence to get things done.
Unlike his brother Stalin, Alagiri was never groomed for politics by his father. He was not given any post in the party till the late 2000s.
There is no love lost between the brothers. On several occasions, Alagiri has attacked the party leadership for preferring Stalin over him as Karunanidhi’s political heir. In 2001, when the rivalry between the brothers reached an all-time high, Alagiri was suspended from the party for the first time. A disgruntled Alagiri wrecked the DMK’s chances in the 2001 Assembly elections. He fielded rebel candidates, which led to the defeat of popular DMK leader PTR Palanivel Rajan by a slim margin and spoilt the chances of many others in the region.
In May 2003, Alagiri found himself in the dock over the murder of former DMK minister T Krittinun, a staunch Stalin loyalist. He was acquitted of the charges in 2008.
The sibling rivalry reached a crescendo when supporters of Alagiri burnt down the office of Dinakaran, a regional newspaper, after a survey by the paper predicted only 2% support for Alagiri as Karunanidhi’s successor. The attack, which took place in broad daylight, claimed the life of three people.
There are other instances of Alagiri using questionable means to reach his ends.
South Tamil Nadu, an AIADMK bastion, has always been tough for the DMK. Alagiri built the party in the region through intimidation and kangaroo courts. He perfected the “art” of cash-for-votes during the 2009 Thirumangalam by-election in Madurai district. The “Thirumangalam formula” became so popular that it was even discussed in a cable sent out by the US embassy to the state department in that year.
For his pains, Alagiri was rewarded with the plum post of South Zone Organising Secretary. It cemented his position as the undisputed leader of the party in southern Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, Alagiri won the Lok Sabha elections with a huge margin of over one lakh votes and was made a cabinet minister in UPA II.
As an MP, Alagiri’s track record was nothing to write home about. He gained the reputation of being a serial absentee. He was pulled up by the-then speaker Meira Kumar and warned of being disbarred as a member. Alagiri cited his “lack of English proficiency” as his reason to skip Parliament. He resigned as a Union minister after the DMK quit the UPA government in 2013.
In March 2014, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the DMK expelled Alagiri and stripped him of party posts for his persistent slanderous attacks on party seniors and for anti-party activities. The expulsion was a point of no return in the sibling rivalry. Since then, Alagiri faded into political oblivion, with occasional jibes at the party and his brother Stalin.
During the funeral of Karunanidhi, a tired Alagiri was seated at the back. Egged by his sister Kanimozhi, Alagiri came to the front and stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother Stalin. It was a moment of unity for the DMK first family in the time of grief. But that unity did not last long.
Three days later, Alagiri created a stir at his father’s memorial ahead of the DMK’s executive meeting on August 14. He raised the banner of revolt against Stalin and claimed that loyalists of Karunanidhi were with him. He warned the party of dire consequences if they did not re-admit him.
So far, the DMK seems unmoved with Alagiri’s posturing. The ‘Madurai strongman’ has now announced a “mega rally” on September 5. The turnout at the rally will indicate whether Alagiri can be taken seriously as a leader, or is destined to remain a rebel without a cause.