Madurai: Hitting back at the BJP, which has been taking frequent potshots at his party over ‘nepotism’, ruling DMK leader and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said he does belong to a family-run party as all of Tamil Nadu is Karunanidhi’s (late party stalwart and his grandfather) kin. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Udhayanidhi, the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, said, “They (BJP) call us (DMK) a family-run party. I agree that DMK is a family-run party, as all of Tamil Nadu is Karunanidhi’s family.” Also targeting former CM and AIADMK leader E Palaniswami, Udhayanidhi said, “Till (AIADMK stalwart) Jayalalitha was the chief minister, NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) was not allowed in the state. However, after her demise, the slave government (the previous AIADMK-run regime) allowed the NEET exam to be held in the state for fear of the BJP. The decision by the previous government to bring NEET to Tamil Nadu drove one of our daughters, Anita (who led the state’s fight against the all-India national and medical engineering exam), to take her own life. Thereafter, till now, 22 students have died by suicide due to fear of the NEET exam.” A long-time former chief minister, Kalaignar Karunanidhi was a cult figure in the state’s Dravidian politics. Under his leadership, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, since 1957, contested and won all general elections in the state, barring 1984, when he didn’t contest the polls. Kalaignar passed away on August 7, 2018, aged 94. He was buried with full state honours at Marina Beach, next to his mentor and former Tamil Nadu chief minister, CN Annadurai. The voting for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will be held in the first phase on April 19. During polling for the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 of the 39 seats. In 2019, the DMK won 23 Lok Sabha seats, hogging 33.2 per cent of the total votes polled, while the Congress bagged 8 seats, with its vote share at 12.9 per cent. The CPI, too, won two seats in the state. The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19.
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