Insiders say a well-thought out decsion was taken by the DMK leadership to keep Raja's public appearances to an unavoidable minimum in the run up to the polls as the party senses a keeness in the opposition AIADMK and Left to further politcise the 2G scam. The party also hopes that the move will put a muzzle on the Congress, in case it goes to the polls with the DMK, sources say.

DMK missed PC, Pranab cues on 2G?

The 2G issue might not have snowballed as it did for Karunanidhi if only he had heeded home minister P Chidambaram's and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's warnings, Parliament sources say.

According to these sources, PC and Mukherjee prophetically warned DMK of the eventual spiralling of the scam into being India's largest ever almost six months before it came to a head. The senior ministers had reportedly told Karunanidhi that the spectrum scam would boomerang on his party if he failed to take any action against Raja.

Karunanidhi refused and now, the DMK is mulling a hibernation for Raja, the party's most recoginisable Dalit face, even as it readies itself for the polls next year.