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  KING-SIZE: M.K. Alagiri celebrated his birthday last week amid much fanfare

It was a birthday party the temple town of Madurai will not forget in a hurry. More than 8,000 men and women — including groups of men in bandanas dancing wildly to drums, bursting crackers and carrying garlands and swords — thronged a sprawling hall to wish the birthday boy. And M.K. Alagiri — just ousted from his party by his father — turned 63 with suitable pomp.

The patriarch of Tamil Nadu politics, M. Karunanidhi, may be disappointed in his son, but Alagiri clearly has his own legion of fans. He has been suspended from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), stripped of his party post as south zone organising secretary and has a showcause notice slapped on him. But in Madurai, he is the king.

Large-sized posters of the former Union minister seated on a majestic chair, with a lion by his side, beam down on the crowds, making it clear who rules Madurai. Loud music praising the 'braveheart' blares in the background. Underlying the air of revelry and fun is a sheer display of unbridled power.

Earlier this week, Alagiri was in the news for a different reason. He was suspended from the DMK after his angry outburst against his father for suspending five of his loyalists in the Madurai party unit after they lodged police complaints against their own DMK functionaries on grounds of casteism.

The backdrop of this infighting within the party is the growing power of Alagiri's younger brother and party treasurer M.K. Stalin. Stalin wants to control the Madurai unit which has been Alagiri's fiefdom since the 1990s.

The battle between the two brothers is an enduring one. Karunanidhi, who is seen to favour Stalin, publicly said on Wednesday that Alagiri had told him Stalin would 'die in three or four months'.

But Alagiri's supporters believe that the family feud is just an 'ego issue' that has to be settled internally. 'I love Kalaignar (Karunanidhi). We party workers will do anything for him. He sent his son Alagiri to Madurai and we have nurtured him and will continue to do so,' says B. Jayaraman, DMK party loyalist and worker for 36 years.

'The problem will be sorted out in a few days,' chips in Venkateshwaran, another worker, before rushing off to pour milk over Alagiri's posters in a bid to counter the burning of an Alagiri effigy a few days ago by Stalin's supporters in Chennai.

There was speculation that Alagiri would announce his political plans, including the birth of a new party, on his birthday, January 30. But all that Alagiri told the media was that his father had not wished him. He told The Telegraph in a telephonic conversation that he was not going to discuss the issue any further.

Unlike Stalin, Alagiri, Karunanidhi's second son (the eldest is not in politics), has not managed to carve out a clear-cut political path in politics. He did not have a formal post for long and during the emergency, as Stalin's political career was taking wing after his arrest under MISA, Alagiri was despatched on a tamer assignment to head the party newspaper Murasoli in Madurai.

While Stalin worked his way up the ranks by building up the DMK's youth wing, Alagiri — not as charismatic as the younger brother — failed to make a mark. And though in 1996 he was actively involved in politics, firming up his base in Madurai, he soon ran afoul of party leaders for allegedly instigating dissidence.

In the 2001 legislative Assembly elections, a sulking Alagiri played havoc by fielding rival candidates in 11 constituencies, which led to the defeat of DMK stalwarts. He was removed from the party for one and half years. In 2003, he was accused of having been involved in the murder of former DMK minister and staunch Stalin loyalist T. Kiruttinan in Madurai. Along with 13 others, he has since been acquitted in the case.

DMK leaders point out that Alagiri has often been in trouble. In 2007 he was allegedly involved in burning down the Madurai office of the Maran-owned Dinakaran newspaper for carrying a survey which showed that Stalin was more popular than Alagiri.

When the errant son was taken back into the party fold, he seemed to want to redeem himself in his father's eyes. In 2009, he won a by-election in Thirumangalam for the DMK. 'That was his only major achievement. There was nothing to stop him from contesting for posts in the party, but he chose not to do so,' says T.K.S .Elangovan, party spokesperson and senior party functionary.

Even his stint as the Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers in Delhi was marred by lack of attendance in Parliament and being unresponsive to questions about his ministry.

Party leaders don't believe Alagiri's departure will harm the party. 'DMK has a 60-year history. We have seen the likes of MGR and Vaiko leave us. When Vaiko was suspended they said the party would be split vertically. Did it happen? There will be no impact if Alagiri leaves,' Elangovan asserts.

Most members of the party believe that Stalin will eventually take over the reins of the party from his 90-year-old father. 'Already, party affairs and administration are completely in the hands of Stalin. He is effectively running the party and only certain decisions are taken by Karunanidhi,' a DMK leader adds.

And the sooner Alagiri reads the writing on the wall the better for him, says Gnani Sankaran, political affairs commentator in Chennai. 'It is time Alagiri concedes that Stalin is the leader of DMK,' Sankaran says.

But a section of people believes Alagiri has been given a raw deal. DMK functionary K. Sivalingam from Melur points out that Alagiri has contributed towards boosting the party's image in Madurai and southern districts. 'He shifted the central market outside Madurai city, set up a training college, and solves our problems within days,' adds V. Bhaskaran, a former councillor and a Congressman.

As the 2014 general elections near, there is speculation on how the family feud will affect the party. 'This is not good for the party at all. District level functionaries are using this divide between the two brothers for their own purposes,' says M. Vijayabhaskar, assistant professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, and an expert on Dravidian politics.

But in the final analysis, observers feel the feud may not make a difference to the hard core DMK worker who will never shed his loyalty for the party and will continue to vote for it. The 2014 elections will put this to test.