Chennai : After lying dormant for many months ever since MK Alagiri was ousted from the DMK, the estranged elder son of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on Thursday blasted his younger brother and party working president MK Stalin. He derided him as a ‘non-working’ president of DMK.

In an outburst calculated to harm the political prospects of the DMK under his brother, Alagiri said that the DMK as a “non-working” president who was harming the party’s interests. The real supporters are with me, Alagiri thundered in Madurai in midst of this close supporters, he told media persons at a marriage ceremony in the temple town of Madurai.

“Nobody here with me are in it for party posts or power,” Alagiri said adding that his brother was destroying the party and its chances to capture power.

With this latest frontal attack, the dormant sibling rivalry came to the fore again in the DMK, which in itself may not amount to much given the vote percentage the DMK had notched up in the 2016 general elections, only a fraction behind the winner AIADMK. Where the outbursts of Alagiri make a difference is in assembly elections that are very closely fought and margins of victories are low.

And more important, Alagiri’s attack has the potential of making a dent at a perception level, as the ruling AIADMK is sure to exploit the statements of the elder brother against his own younger brother to its own advantage.

Coming at a time when there are rumours that all was not well between Stalin and his half-sister Kanomozi, the Alagiri attack only adds fuel to fire when it came to speculations about rift in the first family of the DMK. The DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, keeping indifferent health, is retired and party affairs are being solely handled by Stalin.