Rise and fall of Kanimozhi

From being in the periphery for decades,Kanimozhi and her mother Rajathi,Karunanidhis third wife,moved to the nerve centre of power after the passing away of the patriarchs nephew Murasoli Maran. This gradual move to the Centre was accentuated by the bitter feud between the Karunanidhi family and the younger generation of the Marans over the publication of a survey which showed M K Alagiri in an unenviable light. Marans were persona non grata,and the younger one,Dayanidhi lost his place in the Cabinet overnight.

Two months after Dayanidhis ouster,Kanimozhi was elected to the Rajya Sabha in July 2007. She was to be her fathers trusted envoy in Delhi,a job once expertly handled by Murasoli. Her partys clout at the Centre got her a spot in several House committees, including on health and family welfare,and HRD.

The 43-year-old was the partys rising star,an answer to AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa.

Around this time rumours spread that she could be made the telecom and IT minister,the post vacated by Dayanidhi. But a lower-profile DMK leader,A Raja,was made the minister,and held on despite talk that it was a stop-gap arrangement.

As Raja grew through the ranks to become close to the party chief,Kanimozhis residence in Chennai became an important address for political correspondents and many others.

Outside political activities,Kanimozhi was one of the main driving forces behind a widely-popular street festival Chennai Sangamam,a confluence of Tamil heritage,of arts,artisans,cuisine and culture. She also organised an employment fair for the low-skilled,which she claimed fetched jobs for thousands.

The spectacular growth of this family did not go down well with the existing power centres in the family and the party. When the Marans patched up with the Karunanidhis,one story that did the rounds suggested there was regrouping in the family wherein Alagiri,MK Stalin and the Marans stood against Rajathi and Kanimozhi. But the real trouble started after the 2G scam surfaced,with the CAG indicting Raja,by then identified with the Rajathi-Kanimozhi camp.

With her apparent artistic bent of mind,she was an obvious choice as one of the directors of Kalaignar TV apart from being a major shareholder with 20 per cent stake. Both these connections returned to hurt when the channel was found to have got Rs 214-crore loan/equity from a company that benefited from Rajas 2G decisions. The CBI was at her door asking questions,and eventually,she was named a co-accused. The last nail in the coffin was the DMKs humiliating defeat in the recent Assembly polls.

Karunanidhi hurt,says party to decide on ties

In light of his daughter Kanimozhis arrest,DMK chief M Karunanidhi Friday said the party will discuss the matter before taking any decision. He said the DMKs alliance with the Congress will not be affected by Kanimozhis arrest.

This is a democratic party. A meeting… will be convened to discuss the matter, he said when asked what the DMK intended to do from here. If you had a daughter,and if that child was arrested for no fault of hers,then you would understand the hurt I am feeling now.