Know Your Leader | In 1st election without patriarch Karunanidhi, MK Stalin captain of the DMK-Cong ship in Tamil Nadu

MK Stalin, who will lead Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the first time in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, has huge shoes to fill.

Son of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, Stalin was formally appointed as chief of the party in 2018 after his father’s demise. As party president, he has two big tasks to accomplish — one, to carry the burden of a legacy that comes from being a son of the popular leader, and two, defeat the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) to gain power in the state again.

In the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Stalin will have to exhibit what he learnt from his father, one of the shrewdest politicians of the country.

Stalin was born to Karunanidhi and Dayalu Ammal on March 1, 1953, and was named after Soviet Communist leader Joseph Stalin.

His name was a spur-of-the-moment decision by Karunanidhi, who was attending the condolence meeting of Joseph Stalin. As someone informed him about the birth of his child, Karunanidhi instantly named him after the Russian Communist party leader.

At the age of 14, Stalin jumped into politics by campaigning for his father’s party in 1967. However, his official entry into the party was made in 1973 when he was inducted into the DMK’s general council.

The way after his induction into DMK was not easy for Stalin. In 1976, the DMK government was dismissed on charges of corruption and Stalin was arrested under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for protesting against the Emergency, spending a year in prison.

In 1988, Stalin also tried his hands at acting. He did two movies (Ore Raththam, Makkal Aanayittal) and two television series. He stopped his acting career after this.

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A political revival for Stalin and DMK came in 1989, when the party won by a handsome margin and Stalin secured a massive victory at Thousand Lights in Chennai. The leader was then titled as ‘Thalapathy’ or Commander.

In 1996, Stalin was made Mayor of Chennai. Following this, people were so impressed with his work that he was referred to as ‘Managara Thanthai’ or 'Father of the City'.

Stalin’s efforts, however, could not bring victory to the party and J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK gained power in Tamil Nadu in 2001. However, Stalin and his party did not give up and came back to power in 2006.

Stalin has an old relation with controversies, starting with his arrest during Emergency. Another big rumour about Stalin was regarding the abduction of TV news anchor Fathima in the late 1980s. The reports were, however, denied by the anchor in 2018.

Also Read | AIADMK wants EC to restrain Stalin from making remarks on Jaya probe panel

In 2001, he, along with his father Karunanidhi and uncle Murasoli Maran, was arrested in a midnight raid and charged in the Chennai flyover scam.

Ahead of the April 11 polls, DMK is straddling on Stalin’s back to ride to victory. The party, with Stalin’s experience and its alliance with the Congress, the CPI, the CPI (M), the VCK, the MDMK, the IUML, the KMDK and the IJK, is looking to gain a major chunk of 39 Lok Sabha seats.