New Delhi:
Amid much speculation on who shall replace A Raja in the Union Cabinet, sources have told NDTV that the DMK may not get back the Telecom portfolio.
The sources also said that the DMK's ministerial berth, vacated by Raja, was likely to be kept vacant for now. They said Karunanidhi had indicated at a meeting yesterday that he wanted the berth to be kept vacant till the Raja issue was resolved.
Ever since Raja resigned on Sunday night, the names of various DMK leaders have been doing the rounds for a likely replacement.
Rajya Sabha MP and DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi has been seen as the chief contender as it was felt that her half-brothers - Alagiri and Stalin - were unlikely to object. But Kanimozhi herself was non-committal both on Sunday evening and on Monday morning. "I am an MP and I will continue to be an MP," she said on Sunday.
On Monday, she said when asked if she was a contender, "We should not speculate yet, the minister was asked to resign and he did. I don't think we should take everything that seems as the truth."
Another DMK leader being talked about as a possible replacement is AKS Vijayan, a three-time MP and the DMK's lesser-known Dalit face.
Also doing the rounds is the name of DMK spokesman TKS Elangovan who is a Lok Sabha MP. He represents the strong Thevar community and has the backing of MK Stalin.
Finally, senior DMK leader TR Baalu was also seen a contender. Baalu was the shipping minister during the UPA's first term and he happens to be a trusted man of Karunanidhi. He could not be accommodated in UPA II.
However, Baalu is not in the good books of the big brothers M K Stalin and M K Alagiri.
It's a double crisis of sorts for Karunanidhi. Replacing Raja with Kanimozhi could lead to criticism that the family's number in the Union Cabinet is rising from two to three. His son M K Alagiri and grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran are already Cabinet ministers.