Chennai : Finally 65 year old DMK leader MK Stalin will be anointed the president of the party after spending many years as an understudy to his father Kalaignar Karunanidhi. The coronation ceremony is fixed for tomorrow when the DMK general council is meeting in Chennai to elect new party chief to replace Karunanidhi who passed away earlier this month.

Stalin, the party working president will give up the post of treasurer, election for which is also slated for tomorrow.

The coronation will be announced tomorrow.

His election will be smooth as he is the only candidate to have filed nomination for the post, which was held by his father for fifty years. All the 65 district secretaries have already seconded Stalin’s name for the party president post. Stalin was made working president in January 2017 when his father became ill and needed to be hospitalised.

The elevation of Stalin as the party President became a necessity after Karunanidhi passed away early this month.

Senior leader Duraimurugan is set to be elected unopposed as no body else in the party have filed their nomination for that post.

The assession of Stalin to be a smooth affair was seen at the party’s Executive Committee meeting held on Aug 14 where senior leaders urged him to take over the party.

Stalin has his task cut out. To begin with he has to lead his party to victory in by elections — Tiruvarur (falling vacant after Karunanidhi’s death) and Tiruparankundran (vacant after the death of AIADMK law maker A.K.Bose).

The DMK’s candidate in the R.K.Nagar bye election lost his deposit and came poor third after independent candidate T.T.V.Dinakaran and AIADMK leader E.Madhusudhanan.

Stalin’s elder brother M.K.Alagiri has stepped war against Stalin and has announced a programme in Chennai.

Alagiri has announced his plans to hold a rally in Chennai early next month to show his strength.

The Alagiri-Stalin rivalry has hurt the DMK for a long time.

“I feel Alagiri himself may contest in the Tiruvarur bye election. He may like to ride on wave of Karunanidhi’s own son. It is immaterial if he loses provided DMK also loses in the bye election,” political analyst Raveendharan Dhuraiswamy said.

He said Alagiri may not be a challenge for Stalin within the party but may pose a hurdle from outside.