Chennai, New Delhi: Kahani ghar ghar ki could well be the soap opera playing out in the Karunanidhi household. After much wrangling and lobbying between various branches of his family and his party, the DMK patriarch is believed to have decided who makes it to the Union Cabinet.
Azhagiri, his son; his grand nephew Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja, the Dalit face. In fact, Karunanidhi opted to keep senior leader T R Baalu out so that 2 relatives could be accommodated in the Cabinet.
Says political commentator Cho Ramaswamy: "If he accommodates one person of a family in a particular position, he has to do the same thing for two or three others. That's his problem."
That's not all. The family friction may even determine which ministry each gets.
Maran may get a low-profile department like Textiles because Karunanidhi's immediate family is said to be upset with the Congress pushing for him to take over the high-profile IT and Telecom department.
With her brother and cousin getting cabinet posts, Kanimozhi's minimum demand is apparently independent charge as minister of state. But the Congress is unwilling.
Earlier in the day, the PM's envoy M K Narayanan dropped by again to reiterate the Congress' position. But even after Karunanidhi's decision, it's unlikely that the DMK soap opera is going to end.