File photo: DMK chief M Karunanidhi (right) with MK Stalin
After his party failed to win a single seat in Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, who fronted the DMK campaign for the national election, offered to resign from party posts but was reportedly told his leadership is essential by his father, M Karunanidhi, who heads the party.
Other leaders also urged Stalin not to take such a "tragic decision", said DMK leader Durai Murugan, adding, "So he accepted our request and leader's (Karunanidhi) advice also and withdrew the resignation."
That back-and-forth amounts to little more than "a drama" said Mr Stalin's hostile older brother,
MK Alagiri, who was expelled by their father from the DMK for indiscipline.
Furious that Mr Karunanidhi chose his brother over him as his political successor, Mr Alagiri waged a long and brazen war to undermined Stalin and the decisions he took for the DMK.
Mr Stalin decided not to ally with the Congress this time around. In 2009, the combination won 26 of Tamil Nadu's 39 parliamentary seats. This time, both parties scored zero. (
We Have the Heart to Bear Anything, Says Decimated DMK)
The state has been swept by the ruling AIADMK, whose leader J Jayalalithaa is the chief minister.
The AIADMK stacked up 37 of the 39 seats. (
Why Jayalalithaa's Stupendous Win is Bitter Sweet)
The DMK was part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition till March last year.
Mr Karunanidhi said today that the media is to blame for his party's crushing defeat.
Top DMK leaders like A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran, both former union ministers, lost their constituencies. They are among the DMK top rung that has been badly tainted by charges of corruption.
Mr Raja was arrested on charges of engineering a massive swindle while he was telecom minister. The CBI claims that on return for an out-of-turn license, a telecom firm routed a 200-crore kickback to him through a television channel co-owned by the DMK chief's daughter, M Kanimozhi.
All DMK leaders have denied any wrongdoing.