Stalin is DMK floor leader

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The DMK legislature party on Wednesday unanimously elected party treasurer and former deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin as the floor leader in the state Legislative Assembly.

A DMK legislature party meeting at Anna Arivalayam, chaired by party chief M. Karunanidhi, also elected former law minister Durai Murugan as deputy floor leader and MLA Sakrapani as party whip.

Mr Stalin’s election comes a day after the DMK patriarch returned from New Delhi, where he met his jailed daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi who is being tried as a co-conspirator in the 2G scam.

The party’s delay in naming its House leaders caused much embarrassment to DMK members, especially Mr Stalin, who had to scout for a seat before finally settling for one in the remotest corner of the hall.

Dismissing the awkward incident as a “minor issue”, political analyst Gnani said, “Karunanidhi will not attend Jayalalithaa’s Assembly. He will sign the Assembly register and leave. Stalin is the obvious choice.”

“Karunanidhi should have made him the legislature party leader when the DMK was in power, he added. “But better late than never.”

“This is what we expect and what we want,” a senior DMK MP said. “Given the crisis the party is facing, it is an apt time for thalapathi to take over and dismantle power centres within and outside the family so the party can bounce back.”