Mu Karunanidhi, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch, will file his record thirteenth nomination, to contest in the state assembly elections to be held on May 16.

The DMK, on April 12, announced that the nonagenarian will file his papers and seek re-elections from Thiruvarur, on April 24.

Karunanidhi, who turns 93 this June, has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for four terms. He is confident that his party’s prospects are very bright this time.

A native of Thiruvarur, Karunanidhi made his political debut in 1957, as member of the DMK. The party was formed in 1949 after it broke away from Justice Party. He had contested from Kulithalai constituency and won the elections. During the 1962 elections, he contested from Tanjavur. From 1967 onwards, he had been contesting from various constituencies in Chennai city, which became and remained a DMK stronghold, until the 2011 elections.

The party suffered massive electoral defeat following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, but Karunanidhi managed to win from the Harbour constituency in 1991 – the lone person from the DMK to win the seat during the particular elections.

Karunanidhi won three consecutive times from Chepauk – in 1996, 2001 and 2006. He won from Tiruvarur in 2011, but his party lost badly at the polls.