Karunanidhi family

Last updated

Karunanidhi family
Current region Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India
Members M. Karunanidhi
M. K. Muthu
M. K. Stalin
M. K. Alagiri
M. K. Tamilarasu
M. K. Selvi
Murasoli Maran
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi
Kalanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Maran
Udhayanidhi Stalin
Dayanidhi Azhagiri
Arulnidhi Tamilarasu
Senthamarai Stalin
Sabareesan Vedamurthy
Estate(s)Gopalapuram House, Gopalapuram, Chennai
CIT Colony House, Chennai

The Karunanidhi family are an Indian political family who have had considerable influence in the politics and cinema of Tamil Nadu. The most notable member of the family was M. Karunanidhi who was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms and was the DMK party leader from 1969 till 2018.

Contents

Karunanidhi's grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran has been the union cabinet minister for two terms, once as a Minister of Information and Technology and once as a Minister of Textiles. One of Karunanidhi's sons, M. K. Stalin, is the 7th and current chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has been a five-time MLA in Tamil Nadu Legislative assembly and a one-time deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; another son, M. K. Alagiri, was the Minister of Chemicals in the central cabinet and also the co-ordinator for South Tamil Nadu for DMK. His daughter Kanimozhi is a Member of the Parliament in Lok Sabha. His grandnephew Kalanidhi Maran is the owner of the Sun Network, the second largest TV network in India and also Sun Pictures, a Tamil movie production company. The fourth generation of the family comprising Arivunithi, Dayanidhi Azhagiri, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Member of Legislative assembly and Arulnithi are involved in the Tamil cinema industry.

The large presence of Karunanidhi's family members both in the central government and state government has led to accusations of political nepotism. [1] [2] Two of the family members, Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran, had been charged by Central Bureau of Investigation for their alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum case. However, CBI failed to prove charges against the two, and the Delhi High Court acquitted both the accused. [3] The fourth generation of the family is accused of using political clout in their favour in the Tamil cinema industry. [4]

M. Karunanidhi

File picture of Karunanidhi M. Karunanidhi .jpg
File picture of Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 - 7 August 2018) [5] was the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), [6] a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N. Annadurai, in 1969, [7] though the party had leading stalwarts in Nedunchezhian, E. V. K. Sampath, K. A. Mathiazhagan, Nanjil K. Manoharan and K. Anbazhagan, who were called Aim perum Thalaivargal meaning five great leaders. [8] He has served as chief minister five times (1969–71, 1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001 and 2006–2011). He holds the record of winning his seat in every election in which he has participated in a political career spanning more than 60 years. [9] [10] [11] He is also a playwright and screenwriter in Tamil cinema.

He married three times; his wives are the late Padmavathy, Dayalu and Rajathi. [12] [13] [14]

He has four sons, namely M. K. Muthu, M. K. Alagiri, M. K. Stalin, and M. K. Tamilarasu and two daughters, Selvi and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi. M. K. Muthu, his eldest son, was born to Padmavathy, who died early. Azhagiri, Stalin, Selvi and Tamilarasu were born to Dayalu, while Kanimozhi is the only daughter from his third wife, Rajathi.

Murasoli Maran

Murasoli Maran (Tamil : முரசொலி மாறன்) (17 August 1934 – 23 November 2003) was an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party and the nephew of M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for 36 years, he was made a Union Minister in three separate central governments, in charge of Urban Development in the V.P. Singh government, Industry in the Gowda and Gujral governments, and finally Commerce and Industry under Vajpayee. [15] Apart from being a politician, Maran was a journalist and scriptwriter for films too. [16] He was the editor of the DMK party paper, Murasoli and hence got the title appended to his name.

Controversy

Allegations of nepotism

DMK has been accused by opponents, by some members of the party, and by other political observers of trying to promote nepotism and start a political dynasty along the lines of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Vaiko, who quit the DMK, has been the most vocal. Political observers say that Vaiko was sidelined as he was seen as a threat to M. K. Stalin and other family members.

Karunanidhi's nephew, the late Murasoli Maran, was a Union Minister; however, it has been pointed out that he was in politics long before Karunanidhi became the Chief Minister in 1969. He was arrested several times, including in the Anti-Hindi agitations in 1965. He was asked to contest the by-election for South Madras in 1967 and the nomination papers were signed by Rajaji, Annadurai and Mohammed Ismail (Quaid-e-Millath), demonstrating that his political career was not built entirely on his relation to Karunanidhi. [17]

Many political opponents and DMK party senior leaders have been critical of the rise of M. K. Stalin in the party. But some of the party men have pointed out that Stalin has come up on his own. He has faced a lot of hardship since 1975, when he was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and was beaten up in jail so brutally during the Emergency that a fellow DMK party prisoner died trying to save him. [18] Stalin was an MLA in 1989 and 1996 when his father Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister, but he was not inducted into the Cabinet. He became Chennai's 44th mayor and its first directly elected mayor in 1996. It was only in his fourth term as MLA that he was made a Minister in the Karunanidhi cabinet and then in 2009 was made the Deputy Chief Minister.

Karunanidhi has been accused of helping Murasoli Maran's son Kalanidhi Maran, who runs Sun Network, India's second largest television network. According to Forbes, Kalanidhi is among India's richest 20, with $2.9 billion. [19] Again commentators say that he raised himself into the position on his own merit and even Karunanidhi's sons have achieved nothing compared to him which has been a cause of friction between them. His channels have been the mouth organ of the DMK party (until recent time) and balanced the Jaya TV of the AIADMK.

Another son of Maran's, Dayanidhi Maran, is a former Union Minister for Communications and IT portfolio, not broadcasting ministry, which is responsible for TV networks. Dayanidhi Maran was withdrawn from the IT and Communications portfolio at Center (he was a Union Minister for IT and Communications) because Dinakaran survey poll controversy. He was later given the MP seat in the 2009 general elections from DMK party and subsequently became the Minister of Textiles in the union government.

The Dinakaran newspaper case was handed over to the CBI. But the District and Sessions court acquitted all the 17 accused in that case. [20] So far, the case has not been appealed in a higher court to identify and punish the perpetrators of the crime.

Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi is a member of parliament in Lok Sabha.

Marans vs Azhagiri

In 2006 May, Dinakaran, the newspaper run by Kalanidhi Maran ran into a controversy when it published the results of a series of opinion polls which showed M. K. Stalin having more approval (70%) than his elder brother M. K. Azhagiri (2%) as the political heir of Karunanidhi. It also showed others as 20%, possibly indicating Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi. The Madurai office of Dinakaran was fire bombed by supporters of Alagiri and three employees were killed [21] The Sun TV office in Madurai was also attacked by the perpetrators. [22] A day after the incident, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi came to Chennai for felicitating Karunanidhi for 50 years in legislative assembly. Dayanidhi Maran, who usually accompanies Karunanidhi on every function, discarded the event as a mark of protest. On 13 May, the DMK administrative committee empowered Karunanidhi to remove Dayanidhi from the party. This subsequently led to his resignation from the central ministry. [23] Karunanidhi family started Kalaignar TV to counter Sun TV of the Marans that started focusing on opposition leaders who were vociferous on Alagiri and also covering the 2G Spectrum case on minister A Raja, the DMK minister replacing Dayanidhi in the Union IT ministry. [24] There were several attempts of reconciliation by the Marans, with two public meeting, once during Stalin's birthday in March 2008 and other during May when Karunanidhi was discharged from a Chennai hospital having been treated for neck and back pain. [25] But when the Marans went to greet Karunanidhi on his 85th birthday on 3 Jun 2008, they were made to wait for an hour before finally denying entry. [25] The family later reconciled with the efforts of Selvi and M K Stalin. While the reason for reconciliation is not known, it was rumoured that the family reconciled to keep the third wife, Rajathi and her daughter Kanimozhi away from the family - that Kanimozhi was missing in the family reunion picture supported this argument. [26]

On scientific corruption and ‘recommendation letters’

The Sarkaria Commission was constituted in February 1976, soon after the DMK government was dismissed by the Indira Gandhi dispensation. It is said that Justice Sarkaria was so taken in by the ingenuity with which public funds were embezzled that he described it as “scientific corruption”. However, there appears to be no record in the public domain of him having used the term.

2G Spectrum Case

As per the chargesheet filed by CBI, Kanimozhi has 20% stake in her family owned Kalaignar TV, her step-mother Dayalu owns 60% stake in the same channel. [27] CBI alleges that Kanimozhi was an "active brain" behind the channel's operations [27] and she worked along with former telecom minister A. Raja to get DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa to circuitously route ₹2 billion (US$25 million) to Kalaignar TV. [28] According to CBI, Kanimozhi was in regular touch with A Raja regarding launching of Kalaignar TV channel and its other pending works. [28] CBI alleges that A Raja was further pursuing the cause of Kalaignar TV not only for getting registration of the company from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but also for getting it in the DTH operator TATA Sky's bouquet. [28] The charges levelled against her are criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy under section 120-B, cheating under section 420 & forgery under sections 468 and 471. Booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. [29] [30] She was taken into custody (arrested) by CBI on 20 May 2011. [31] [32] and granted bail on 28 November 2011 after spending 188 days in judicial custody. [33] [34] As of May 2012, trial is being conducted in Special CBI Court. [35]

Dayanidhi Maran was forced to resign from his Textiles Ministry in the central government on account corruption charges levelled against him in the 2G spectrum case. [36] Dayanidhi has been accused of criminal conspiracy by the CBI on charges under Prevention of Corruption Act. [37] An FIR or formal complaint has been filed against Dayanidhi and his brother, Kalanithi Maran, the owner of Sun Network in Tamil Nadu. [36] The homes and offices of the Marans in Delhi and Chennai were raided on 10 October 2011 in connection with the CBI's efforts to prove that when he was telecom minister, Dayanidhi misused his office to help an entrepreneur from Malaysia named T Ananda Krishnan to acquire one of India's biggest telecoms, Aircel. [36] The CBI alleged that in return, Mr Ananda Krishnan invested more than Rs. 6 billion in Dayanidhi's brother Kalanidhi owned Sun Network. [36]

Azhagiri Vs Stalin

The issue of succession of party and the political leadership has always been oriented towards Azhagiri and Stalin, the brothers and apparent political heirs of Karunanidhi. The general council of 3 February 2012 fuelled heated debates on who should be the successor and finally lead to a conclusion of Karunanidhi remaining the head, putting the topic of succession to a temporary end. [38] Azhagiri garners support from Southern Tamil Nadu, which is termed as his political stronghold. The 2011 assembly election drubbing put his power under scanner with the party losing most in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu. [38] Stalin was seen as the natural heir after he was given the post of Mayor of Chennai Corporation during October 2001 and subsequently the Deputy Chief Minister post of Tamil Nadu government on 29 May 2009. The survey poll conducted by Dinakaran newspaper of the Marans created further feud in the family. In a wikileaks revealed cable sent on 9 July 2009, the then US counsel General Andrew T Simkin predicted that M K Azhagiri will contest with Stalin for power once his father leaves the scene, but will be finally prevailed by M K Stalin, who is more acceptable. [39] It also touched upon Azhagiri's noteirty and pugnacious tactics for his alleged involvement in Ta Krittinan murder case, for which he was arrested in 2003 and also on the attack of Dinakaran newspaper office in 2007. [39]

Dominance in Tamil film industry

There are allegations on a large set of family members of Karunanidhi entering into Tamil film distribution and production on account of political backup. [4] "Karunanidhi has used his political might to thrust his entire family on Tamil cinema," said Thuglak editor Cho Ramaswamy, in one of the interviews that fuelled a retort from Karunanidhi, "If Prithvi Raj Kapoor’s family is in films till today, if Rajnikanth’s daughter can produce movies and his son-in-law Dhanush can act, what is wrong if my grandsons Kalanidhi, Udayanidhi, Dayanidhi, Arlunidhi and Arivunidihi are into film-making? It is just another conspiracy by the threaded class (Brahmins) because I work for the Dravidian community" after laying the foundation stone for a colony for film workers on 23 August 2010. [4] The feeling of political might is supported by the production of films by family members starting ventures, leaving Sun Pictures during the DMK government during 2006-2011. [4] The distributors also complained of level-playing field with the political clout involved in distribution of films. [4]

List of Posts held by the family

Family MemberGovernance postYears
M. Karunanidhi DMK Party Leader1969–2018
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly1957–2018
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu1969-1976, 1989-1991,

1996-2001, 2006-2011

Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly1977-1983
M. K. Stalin DMK Party Leader2018– Present
Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu2009–2011
President of Youth Wing, DMK2012–2018
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly1989-1991, 1996–present
Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly2016–2021
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu2021–present
Dayanidhi Maran Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha2004-2014, 2019–present
Minister of Communications and Information Technology2004-2007
M. K. Alagiri Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha2009–2014
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers2009-2013
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha2007-2019
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha [40] 2019–present
Udhayanidhi Stalin Youth Wing Secretary of DMK2019–present
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly2021–present
Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports DevelopmentDecember 2022 - Present

Bold denotes posts still held by the Karunanidhi family.

OrganizationFamily MemberPostYearsNotes
Kalaignar TV DayaluOwner2008–present60% share holder [27]
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi Owner2008–present20% share holder [27]
Westgate Logistics Private LtdRajathe Ammal & Kanimozhi Karunanidhi Owner2004–presentSupporting and auxiliary transport activities; activities of travel agencies [41] [42]
Sun Group Kalanithi Maran Chairman and MD1993–presentGroup of Kal Media Services Pvt. Ltd.

32 TV Channels across Indian languages
45 Radio stations across all India
2 daily newspapers in Tamil language
4 weekly magazines in Tamil language
Sun Pictures - a leading film production and distribution company
Sun Direct - one of India's leading DTH companies, also first to carry HD channels in India
Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV) - Multi System Operators (MSO)
Sun 18 south - to distribute its channels
Kal Airways Pvt. Ltd. Spicejet
Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL(Indian premiar league)Cricket Team

Cloud Nine Movies Dayanidhi Azhagiri Owner [43] 2008–presentTamil film production and distribution company
Red Giant Movies Udhayanidhi Stalin Owner [44] 2008–presentTamil film production and distribution company
Mohana MoviesM. K. TamilarasuOwner2008–presentTamil film production company
Daya Cyber Park Private Limited, MaduraiAlagiri Family [45] Owner2006–presentCyber Park
Inbox 1305Kiruthiga UdhayanithiOwner, Editor [46] 2008–presentThe Week Magazine
NefertariAnusha DayanidhiOwner [47] 2012–presentEvent Management Company
Tamil Mayyam Kanimozhi Karunanidhi Director [48] Non-governmental Organization

Declared assets of the political members of the family

Family MemberAssets Worth (in INR)As on DateNotes
M.K. Stalin and Durga2.2 Cr [49] 22 March 2011Rs 42.28 lakh worth of movable property which includes fixed deposit, joint account with wife and life insurance. [49] The approximate value of their immovable property based on market value was Rs 169.3 lakh. [49]
Karunanidhi, Dayalu and Rajathi41.13 Cr [50] 24 March 2011Karunanidhi has moveable assets of around Rs. 4.93 crore, Rs. 15.34 crore for his first wife, Dayalu and Rs. 20.83 crore for his second wife Rajathi. [50] Karunanidhi has an income of Rs. 37 lakh per annum Rs. 64 lakhs for Dayalu and 1.67 Cr for Rajathi. [50]
M K Azhagiri, Kanthi Azhagiri133.65 Cr [45] 6 August 2011Azhagiri owns 18 acres and 63 cents of agricultural land, 1 acre and 82 cents plus 23,278 sq ft non-agricultural land, a 20 cent plot, flats in Chennai and Madurai, 4 crore in fixed deposit and 1.39 crore in his savings account. [45]
Kanimozhi 8.45 Cr [40] 4 June 2007She owns fixed deposits worth Rs 6.58 crores, a commercial building in Anna Salai worth Rs 1.61 crores, shares worth Rs 3.5 lakh in a company called Westgate Logistics, gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 3.61 lakh and a car, Toyota Camry worth Rs 18.7 lakh. [40]
Dayanidhi Maran 2.94 Cr [51]

[52]

3 September 2011He and his wive have shares in RIL, Reliance Communications, RNRL and DK Enterprises [51] [52]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Isaac, Anna (8 August 2018). "Nepotism or survival? Why Karunanidhi chose family when it came to New Delhi". The News Minute. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Karunanidhi cleared of corruption charges". Rediff.com. 17 April 1998.
  3. ↑ "2G Case Judgement". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Film clan under fire, writer Karuna turns fighter". The Telegraph. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Karunanidhi's Kutumbam". The Indian Express
  6. ↑ "DMK's Official Homepage-Chennai-Tamilnadu-India 800x600 screen resolution". Dmk.in. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Biography in official party website". Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  8. ↑ Ramaswamy 2007, p. 61
  9. ↑ "Karunanidhi wins for record 11th time" - Sify.com
  10. ↑ "I am not a rich person:TN CM Karunanidhi proclaims". Asian Tribune. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Karunanidhi wife pulls out stake in Sun TV". 8 November 2005.
  12. ↑ In South India, more the merrier - The Times of India 2 May 2006
  13. ↑ Rama, Ravana battle again in TN - Rediff
  14. ↑ "In South India, more the merrier". The Times of India. 2 May 2006.
  15. ↑ "An Obituary titled 'A man of many parts' by T. S. Subramanian for Frontline Magazine". Archived from the original on 21 February 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ↑ "Editorial from the Hindu newspaper on 25 November 2003". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  17. ↑ Maran – the eyes and ears of DMK in Delhi Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ Jagadheesan, L R (1 November 1999). "Politics: Special Series; M K Stalin". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  19. ↑ "The World's Billionaires Page 11 of 41". Forbes. 10 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  20. ↑ The Hindu : All acquitted in Dinakaran case
  21. ↑ "TN: 2 killed as Dinakaran office set afire". Rediff. 9 May 2007.
  22. ↑ Phandis 2009, p. 145
  23. ↑ "DMK kicks out Dayanidhi, brings in Raja as Minister". CNN-IBN. 15 May 2007.
  24. ↑ Outlook, Volume XLVIII, No. 51, p. 15
  25. 1 2 Outlook Volume XLVIII, No. 28, p. 18
  26. ↑ "Karuna's Kutumbam". The Indian Express . 31 May 2009.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "Kanimozhi 'active brain' behind Kalaignar TV operations: CBI". The Economic Times.
  28. 1 2 3 "Kanimozhi worked with Raja to get Balwa to route Rs 200 cr to Kalaignar TV: CBI". The Economic Times.
  29. ↑ "Charges Against Raja & others". NDTV. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  30. ↑ "2G case: Charges framed against Raja, Kanimozhi and 15 other accused". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  31. ↑ "DMK's sun sets completely; Kanimozhi arrested in 2G case". One India news.
  32. ↑ "2G scam: Kanimozhi arrested, sent to Tihar jail". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  33. ↑ "Kani gets bail from HC after six-month stay in Tihar jail". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011.
  34. ↑ "Bail for Kanimozhi, four others". The Hindu.
  35. ↑ "Form special court for 2G trial: SC tells govt". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013.
  36. 1 2 3 4 "Dayanidhi Maran quits, DMK will stand by him says Karunanidhi". NDTV. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  37. ↑ "2G scam: Dayanidhi Maran raided, FIR charges him with criminal conspiracy". NDTV. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  38. 1 2 "Trouble haunts DMK: It's Alagiri vs Stalin". The Daily Pioneer. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  39. 1 2 "WikiLeaks: Alagiri 'pugnacious', Stalin 'thuggish'". The Indian Express. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  40. 1 2 3 PTI (1 June 2007). "Kanimozhi files papers, assets worth Rs 8.45 cr". The Indian Express. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  41. ↑ "Net worth of TN's top leaders runs into more than Rs 130 cr". டைம்ஸ் ஆப் இந்தியா. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  42. ↑ "WEST GATE LOGISTICS PRIVATE LIMITED". zaubacorp.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  43. ↑ "Ajith's 50th movie by Goutham Menon!". IndiaGlitz. 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
  44. ↑ "Udhayanidhi Stalin - Filmography, Movies, Photos, Biography, Wallpapers, Videos, Fan Club". Popcorn.oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  45. 1 2 3 PTI (6 August 2011). "Why a restless Azhagiri is itching to get back to his temple town". The financial World. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  46. ↑ "Inbox 1305 Our crew". inbox1305.com. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  47. ↑ "Top celebs launch Anusha Dhayanidhi's Nefertari". behindwoods.com. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  48. ↑ Singh, Onkar (15 December 2010). "CBI raids Radia, Raja's friends; claims breakthough[sic]". Rediff.com . Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  49. 1 2 3 PTI (22 March 2011). "MK Stalin has assets over Rs 1.2 crore". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  50. 1 2 3 PTI (24 March 2011). "Karunanidhi, two wives own moveable assets worth Rs. 41.13 cr". NDTV. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  51. 1 2 Special Correspondent (3 September 2011). "Prime Minister, Cabinet declare their assets; Kamal Nath is the richest". NDTV. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  52. 1 2 PMO (3 September 2011). "DECLARATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES BY MEMBERS OF LOKSABHA" (PDF). pmindia.nic. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu</span>

The 2009 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu was held for 39 seats in the state. There was a radical change in the alliances in this election compared to the last election, reminiscent of the 1999 election in Tamil Nadu. In this election the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) decided to stay with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), but the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the left parties decided to ally itself with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the newly formed Third Front named United National Progressive Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayanidhi Azhagiri</span> Indian cinema producer

Dhayanidhi Azhagiri is an Indian Tamil cinema producer and distributor. He is the owner of the Cloud Nine Movies banner. His grandfather was M. Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His father is M. K. Alagiri, the former Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators. A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of Finance and Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date to favour some specific firms, which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election</span> Elections to the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu

The Fourteenth Legislative Assembly Election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Results were released on 13 May 2011. Two major parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) faced the election as coalitions of multiple political parties: DMK front consisted of 8 parties and the AIADMK of 11 parties. Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which had contested the previous elections independently, allied with the AIADMK coalition. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam boycotted the election following a disagreement with Jayalalithaa over seat-sharing. The outgoing Karunanidhi government was noted for the construction of new assembly building in Chennai, execution of various developmental projects, and implementation of programmes including free health care for the poor and issuance of a range of freebies such as color television to all. However, these were heavily overshadowed by other major issues such as incessant power cuts in households and industries, excessive sand mining, increasing prices of essential items, 2G spectrum case and undue influence of Karunanidhi's extended family in various aspects of Tamil politics and business and even media.

The Dinakaran attack was a firebomb attack by M. K. Alagiri's supporters on 9 May 2007 on the Madurai office of Dinakaran, a Tamil newspaper, which resulted in the deaths of three people. The attack was a response to a survey published by Dinakaran on who people preferred as the future heir of M. Karunanidhi, chief of the political party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). During mass protests throughout the region, the offices of the newspaper were firebombed and two press employees and a private security guard died. 17 people were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, but were all acquitted by the district court. Dayanidhi Maran resigned from the Union Cabinet, where he had been the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, as a result of the controversy surrounding the attack, which created a rift between him and DMK.

The list of political families of Tamil Nadu state in India.

Cyril Thamarai Selvam is a judge in Madras High Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election</span> Indian state election

The Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election was held on 6 April 2021, to elect representatives from the 234 constituencies in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election, ending the decade-long reign of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The DMK's leader M. K. Stalin became the eighth Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and the 12th Chief Minister since the 1956 reorganization. He replaced Edappadi K. Palaniswami of the AIADMK.

Isai Velalar is a community found in India in Tamil Nadu. They are traditionally involved as performers of classical dance and music in Hindu temples and courts of the patrons. The term "Isai Velalar" is a recent community identity, people of minstrel occupation from various castes such as, Melakkarar, Nayanakkarar and Nattuvanar come under this term.

P. Pandi, also known as "Attack" Pandi, is a gangster from the Madurai area of Tamil Nadu, India. He was an aide to former Union Minister M.K. Alagiri. He has at least 20 cases filed against him. He was leader of the Dinakaran attack in 2007, and the murderer of "Pottu" Suresh. He was sentenced to life in prison for that crime.

Kalaignar TV Private Limited is an Tamil mass media company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Established on 14 April 1992 by M. Karunanidhi, it owns a variety of television channels in Tamil language and also radio station. Kalaignar TV launched its paid channel on 7 September 2022.

References

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