At 94, a grim battle

DMK president M Karunanidhi continued to wage a grim battle on Sunday, with the five-time chief minister facing a "transient set back" while undergoing treatment at a hospital where delirious supporters cried and prayed for the leader.

Cries of "Kalaignar [meaning scholar of arts], come back" were heard outside the hospital.

"It is true that there was a transient set back. But it has been set right due to intensive medical care. Do not believe in rumours. He continues to be treated at the ICU," DMK leadaer and former Union Minister A. Raja told reporters on the hospital premises. The veteran leader's family is already at the hospital, where he was admitted on Friday. Chief Minister E Palaniswami has cut short his tour to Salem and is heading for Chennai. Late in the evening the police lathicharged the assembled supporters when they refused to disperse even after the health bulletin at Kauvery Hospital said Karunanidhi's condition had improved.

Karunanidhi, a five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was recouping after a long illness when he contracted the infection and developed fever. For more than a year, he has not made any public appearance.

An early riser and yoga practitioner, Karunanidhi, until he was confined to a wheelchair in 2009 following spinal surgery, would go for regular walks with his pet dogs. Even between 2009 and late 2016, his mind remained as agile as that of a teenager and his political thought process would often be about what next and not about the past. In December 2016, he was hospitalised following a drug allergy and underwent a tracheostomy procedure. Thereafter, for much of the past 18 months he has largely remained unaware of his surroundings but it was his will power that helped him pull along.