Ahead of the full-fledged Cabinet expansion at the Centre, differences seem to have cropped up in the DMK’s first family with party supremo Karunanidhi not being in favour of availing of the two vacant berths caused by the resignation of A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran.
The berths rightfully belong to the party and heir apparent M.K. Stalin is said to be keen on rewarding his loyalists with ministerial positions.
According to sources, Mr Karunanidhi is worried that in the event of his legislators not performing well, the impact might be felt in the 2014 general elections. Also, he believes that there isn’t anybody among the present lot who has the stature to be a Cabinet minister, sources said.
But, Mr Stalin feels that the party should lay claim to its Cabinet positions. He may also prefer four Ministers of State (MoS) berths in place of two Cabinet rank positions, sources added.
Disgusted as they are with the party leadership for not filling the vacancies, DMK MPs have started lobbying for berths in the Cabinet. The names of Tiruchy Siva, T.K.S. Elangovan and A.K.S. Vijayan are doing the rounds for MoS positions should the party decide to increase its representation in the Cabinet.
Congress considers the four MoS — Palanimanickam, Jagathratchagan, D. Napoleon and Gandhi Selvan — as non-performers, which makes DMK MPs believe Mr Karunanidhi may induct fresh faces.