91-year-old politician who is still fighting

Nearly 2,000 people have been waiting patiently for a couple of hours, crammed in a square in the city's Mint area on a hot and humid summer evening.

The street is cordoned off for traffic, colourful lights are strung high above and massive glittering cut-outs of Mr Karunanidhi are watching from vantage points.

As his wheelchair rolls on to the makeshift stage, the DMK patriarch comes in vision: dressed in white with a sunshine yellow scarf over his shoulders, oversized dark glasses in place to hide an old botched eye surgery.

He is accompanied by third wife, Rajathi Ammal, and grandnephew, Dayanidhi Maran, whom he often describes as his grandson.

His arrival is greeted with loud music, the crowd begins chanting his name, there's clapping and waving of hands. A cheer rises through the gathering and black-and-red party flags are waved. Many stand on chairs to get a better look at their leader.

'Will vote for him until my death'

Party leaders and members bow before him, touch his feet and seek his blessings.

As a mike is placed before him, he clears his throat and begins his address, reading from a sheaf of paper, assisted by Mr Maran.

"No one could prevent our party and alliance from coming to power this time. People have put their faith in us and the crowd here bears testimony to that," he says.

Bus driver G Thangaraj, who is listening to him with rapt attention, says he got his job in 2008 when Mr Karunanidhi was in power.

"He built a lot of bridges and roads during his term. He takes care of our needs," he says.

Tila Thilagavathi, 51, says she has been a supporter since she was a child because her parents supported the DMK.

"He gave 20,000 rupees (£200;$299) for my daughter's wedding. I will vote for Mr Karunanidhi until my death," she says.

"His popularity is rooted in his longevity. He's been a witness to everything that's happened in the state in the past six-seven decades," says newspaper columnist Bhaskaran Krishnamurthy.

"He transformed Tamil literature, he's written stories, plays and poems, he's a reformist, he's the only leader of his stature."

Mr Karunanidhi was first elected to the Tamil Nadu state assembly in 1957 and has contested - and won - 12 assembly elections and been the state's chief minister five times in the past.

This is his 13th bid for the assembly and if the DMK manages to defeat the main rival AIADMK party, led by the charismatic former film actress and current Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalitha, he's said he would return as the chief minister.

To put things in perspective, when he won his first election in 1957, it was just 10 years after India became a free country and Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister.

Today, the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family is in politics, but the DMK patriarch is in no hurry to hand over reins to his son and successor, MK Stalin.

"If I win, I would be the chief minister for the sixth time," he told NDTV earlier this week.

"Stalin can become chief minister only if nature does something to me," he added.

'His mind is still sharp'

Former MP and party spokesman TKS Elangovan rubbishes talk of Mr Karunanidhi being "too old" to lead.

"He's very active in the field, he's not lost any of his faculties. His mind is still sharp."

A school dropout, Mr Karunanidhi made his name as a successful scriptwriter in Tamil films.

An atheist and a self-declared rationalist, he rose to political prominence in the 1940s by being a part of the Dravidian movement, which challenged the caste-supremacy of Brahmins, and participating in anti-Hindi agitations.

A prolific writer and a fiery speaker, known for his wit and oratory, he enjoys god-like status among his supports.

But in recent years, he's been accused of nepotism with critics saying he needs to look beyond the family members.

There have been allegations of corruption against several of his family and party members, and some say it was one of the main reasons behind his party's decimation in the 2011 assembly polls.

In the past few years, he's also had to grapple with a bitter power struggle between his sons, MK Alagiri and Mr Stalin, and although that row is now settled with Mr Alagiri's expulsion from the party in 2014 and recognition of Mr Stalin as the heir apparent, some say Mr Karunanidhi's troubles are far from over.

Although considered a youth leader in the DMK, Mr Stalin is hardly youthful - he's 63 and is, by all accounts, getting restless.

(BBC)