M KARUNANIDHI

AFA M I LY C L O S E BY SOME PRAYERS NEXT DOOR

IT’SAPRIL23, threeweekstogoforwhat is likely his final electoral battle, and M Karunanidhiisgettingreadyforhisfirst pollrally. Insidethedmkchief’stwo-storey house, made in the traditional Tamil style, distinctiveonlyforthepartyflagatop, there is hectic activity.

Personal secretary K Shanmuganathan has been busy in the visitors’ section since 8.30 am. Another aide walks up and down with a phone, looking on as senior party leaders arrive and four armed commandos of the National Security Guard take positions. A sniffer dog checks Karunanidhi's customised Toyota Alphard standing in the lobby. A dozen security personnel conduct aroutinedrill, checkingeachvehicleparked on the street with metal detectors.

In his trademark safari suit, Karunanidhi’s aide Shanmughanathan, who has been with the DMK chief since 1976, is turning away people seeking appointments. Others can be seen decorating the door leading to his inner house with garlands, butthefreshlydrawnkolam (rangoli) in front of No. 15, 4th Street, Gopalapuram, has already been smudged by the people walking in and out.

As media cameras wait restlessly outside for Kalaignar, as Karunanidhi is fondly called by his followers, to emerge, news comes that the DMK chief is still having his favourite breakfast — dosa and chutney.

Informationaboutwhatthe92-year-old eats though is tough to come by. It requires a formal mail before a close aide reveals, “Minimum four coffees a day is a must. By around 11 am, he will have chicken soup or vegetablesoup, beforeamini-lunch. Heeats alittlericeforlunch. Thoughtherearesome restrictions these days, gulab jamun and cutlets are his favourites.”

Around 9.30 am, eldest daughter Selvi isthefirsttostepout, herhandsfullof flowers. Next to Karunanidhi’s house, in a narrow lane, is a temple. Rivals say the famously atheist leader’s family conducts pujas there. His loyalists insist Karunanidhi stops for no one, not even god.

That’ssayingmuchforaleaderconfined to a wheelchair since 2009, and carrying the weight of his splintered party and family on his shoulders. Apart from the frugal meals, one way that keeps him going is daily yoga at 4 am, followed by the first coffee of the day. According to a close aide, he does all the possible sitting yoga postures hecanfor20minutes. Theself-declaredrationalist found the middle path when he embraced yoga in 2009.

“He started doing yoga after he was forced to give up his morning walk, which he would do mostly inside the sprawling compound of Anna Arivalayam, his party headquarters,” says the aide.

Karunanidhifinallyleavesaround3pm. Hefirststopsatacitnagarresidencetopick up third wife Rajathi Ammal and daughter Kanimozhi before the convoy heads for a rallyonthebanksofadyar, markingthestart of aroadtripthatwillcoverhalf of thestate’s districts and involve at least 35 rallies.

Sincehecan’tgotoallthe234constituencies, the party has planned for each rally to coveradozenormoreseats. Someoftherallies are stage events, at others, he would be deliveringspeechessittinginhiscaravan. On the road though, he may not be able to indulge in the one leisure activity aides confess about him — watching old songs on TV, someofthemfromhisfilms, othersboundto be from bitter rival J Jayalalithaa’s.

His campaign van is a customised Force Travellerwithaslidingdoorandahighroof, thatcaneasilyaccommodatekarunanidhi’s wheelchair. He has been using similar vans for several elections now.

Those who have seen and heard the Karunanidhi of old say the speech delivery isnolongeraseffortless, butitremainsspontaneous, withtheleadernotreferringtoany paperduringhis20-odd-minuteaddresses.

Instructing a youth who is part of the Dmksocialmediateam, Karunanidhi’spersonalsecretary Rajamanickam, who is well into his 70s, says the DMK chief knows just what to highlight from his speeches for Youtube and Facebook. Karunanidhi has had own Facebook and Twitter accounts since March 2014.

On a Monday evening, as Karunanidhi arrives for a rally at his Thiruvarur constituency, nearnativevillagethirukkuvalai, thereareover10,000cheeringpeoplegathered. The sight is reassuring for a leader who many have been saying should retire.

Hestartshisspeechlistingthenamesof Tamil Nadu Congress chief T K S Elangovan sitting next to him, other alliance leaders and the DMK’S district leaders individually, triggering an applause each time. Rajathi Ammalsitsbehindhim, whileformerunion telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, who was named in the 2G scam, is to his left and never takes his eyes off the DMK supremo. Thepresenceofbothsendsamessage. Inthe war of supremacy within the Karunanidhi clan, itisrajathiandkanimozhiwhoareby thedmkchief inthiscampaign. Kanimozhi too carries 2G taint, and Dayanidhi is a surpriseinclusiongivenhisabsencefrompublic view for a long time.

Ignoringthisfact, thedmkchief focuses ontheallegedcorruptionof thejayalalithaa government, talking about “money seizures” from her partymen’s houses and demanding a CBI probe.

If the presence of Kanimozhi is remarkedupon, soisthecuriousabsenceof M Kstalin, whileeldestsonmkalagiriismore or less silent now. Alagiri remains unpopular, and there is talk still among cadres and voters of him coming back if Karunanidhi returns to power. Others say how Stalin, who is running a virtual parallel campaign with professionals and a strong social media presence, should have been projected as the CM candidate by the DMK.

Older leaders close to Karunanidhi say someof hisownrelativeshaveaskedhimto handoverthebatontostalin. However, says a close aide, Karunanidhi doesn’t want to beafatherwhomadehissonacm.“hefollows Mao’s theory — ‘I don’t want to support anyone, let them grow on their own’.”

Others point out that Karunanidhi still remainspopularamongcolleagues, andfor the reason that in a state with imperious leaders, surrounded by powerful coteries, he is open. “If I call him now and ask for an appointment, hewouldaskmetocomeimmediately. That is Karunanidhi,” says Anbumani Ramadoss, leader of the PMK, and incidentally now a bitter rival.

Before the Trichy rally, the DMK men thronging outside his room are all carrying photographs of party leader K N Nehru. Partymen point out that unlike the AIADMK, the DMK also allows its secondlevel leaders to bloom.

Closestfriendandadvisormnaganathan, former head of economics at the University of Madrasandex-vicechairmanof thestate planningcommission, sayshismemoriesof Karunanidhi revolve around their morning walks together for almost 25 years, until he became wheel-chair bound.

Naganathan also vouches that unlike Jayalalithaa’s actions against him — includingsendingpolicetoarresthimatmidnight in June 2001 — Karunanidhi never expresses any kind of venom towards her. “She is too junior to him, he has seen her since she entered the film industry as a child. When Kalaignar’s police went to arrestjayalalithaain1996(forallegedcorruption), she kept them waiting for one-anda-half hours. Karunanidhiaskedtheofficers to arrest her only when she came out.”

Dismissing talk that Karunanidhi step down, an old-timer who meets the DMK chief off andon, saysstalintoobowsbefore his father still. “Unless there is a constitutional framework imposing an age limit for leaders, itwouldbefoolishtojudgealeader by his age. Is V S Achuthanandan at 92 incompetent? Was Jyoti Basu a failure at 96? R Venkataraman was in his late 80s when he became the president of India.”

Still, even the leader of a party formed with a rationalist agenda can do with some prayers now. Four hours before the Trichy rally is to begin, a brief prayer is held at the hotelkarunanidhiisstayingin. Partyleader A Raja, another 2G scam survivor, is among the dozen or so leaders gathered as a priest holds prayers for Karunanidhi's health.

Ask him about his contemporary Achuthanandan, andkarunanidhiisbrief,“i wish him all the best for his success.”

File Those who have seen and heard the Karunanidhi of old say the speech delivery is no longer as effortless, but it remains spontaneous, and extempore.