M Karunanidhi, 94, was declared dead a little after 6 pm on Tuesday.
As news of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's death was confirmed by a hospital in Chennai this evening, thousands of party workers were seen weeping, beating their chest and chanting his name in a giant outpouring of grief.
Karunanidhi's son MK Stalin, who had taken charge of the party in the past few years, put out an appeal to DMK cadre to maintain discipline.
"Do not give room for untoward incidents. Maintain peace," said Stalin in a statement, adding, "Hand over anti socials to police , they may attempt to tarnish DMK."
Mr Stalin also urged DMK workers to "cooperate with the police and prove that DMK follows military discipline."
Karunanidhi, 94, was declared dead a little after 6 pm on Tuesday. The hospital said his health had worsened since yesterday and he did not respond to efforts to revive him.
Mr Stalin said his father, a five-time Chief Minister, had led the DMK for 50 years. "For 75 years he groomed an army for the Dravidian movement. None will ever be like him, but his ideals and discipline will run as perennial river in our blood," Stalin said.
He thanked the doctors and management of the Kauvery hospital, where Karunanidhi had been treated for 11 days.
For more than a week, hundreds of DMK supporters had travelled from across Tamil Nadu and kept a vigil outside the hospital.
They held photos and posters of Karunanidhi, often gripping the image tight to their chest, and shouted prayers and slogans urging the elderly politician to recover.