Chennai, Aug 27: 65-year-old MK Stalin, the heir-apparent to late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, will officially takeover as the party president tomorrow. With his coronation, he would be the second leader after his father to hold the coveted post.

All key votaries have expressed solidarity with Stalin, including the DMK secretaries of all 65 districts. His elder brother Alagiri, despite issuing veiled threats, will remain a non-spoiler as the party coterie which stood with Karunanidhi has overwhelmingly backed Stalin.

At the party's executive meeting held on August 14, top DMK leaders had appealed Stalin to takeover the mantle at the earliest. In a symbolic move, all senior leaders one after the another asked Stalin to "lead" them at a time their guiding light, Karunanidhi, has passed away.

94-year-old Karunanidhi held on to the post of DMK president for the last 49 years. An anointing of sorts was seen in January 2017, when Stalin was appointed as the working president of the party due to the falling health of Kalaignar.

Stalin, however, faces a tough task ahead with the upcoming assembly bypolls for Tiruvarur (fell vacant after Karunanidhi’s death) and Thiruparankundram (vacant after the death of AIADMK lawmaker AK Bose).

His role as the working president came under radar after, what critics describe, his failure to exploit the cracks in AIADMK following the demise of party matriarch J Jayalalithaa.

In the bypolls held for RK Nagar assembly seat, the DMK candidate had lost deposit, emerging as the second runner-up behind independent candidate TTV Dinakaran and AIADMK leader E Madhusudhanan.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2018 10:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).