DMK invites Mamata Banerjee to inaugurate Karunanidhi’s statue

New Delhi, July 26: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party has invited Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to inaugurate a statue of party ideologue M. Karunanidhi in Chennai on his death anniversary on August 7.

The move signals the rising political importance of the West Bengal chief minister in the bloc of anti-BJP parties.

DMK sources said the invitations to attend the event were limited to the chief ministers of southern states and that WB CM was the only exception.

Reportedly, the Bengal CM shared a good rapport with DMK chief and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin, who had come to Kolkata to attend the anti-BJP federal front meeting on January 19.

Earlier, in December 17, 2018 another statue of Karunanidhi had been inaugurated by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the event was attended by a host of senior Opposition leaders, setting the stage for a joint strategy for the Lok Sabha polls.

Significantly, the DMK is part of the UPA and had a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Tamil Nadu. However, after the Lok Sabha results, the spectre of Opposition unity has suffered a setback and the invitation to Mamata was a politically significant move.

DMK sources said the invitation was handed over to the Trinamul Congress chief by DMK leader Tiruchi Siva, and the TMC supremo had accepted it.

While the Trinamool Congress suffered significant losses in the recent Lok Sabha polls, it is still considered to be a pivotal part of the Opposition and Mamata as leader of any Opposition alliance.