For nonagenarian DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, retirement from active politics does not seem to be near as his younger son MK Stalin, to whom Karunanidhi wants to hand over the baton, is yet to prove his mettle to lead the party.

It has been nearly 70 years since Karunanidhi has been in politics and 2014 marks his 57th year as the DMK's star election campaigner. While Karunanidhi had decided to finally hand over the baton to Stalin, the reports that he got from the constituencies, where Stalin campaigned, have not been extremely positive, sources in the party said.

And that is why Karunanidhi has decided to kick-start campaigning for his party in spite of his old age and physical disabilities.

Take for instance the party chief’s campaign in Chennai. His speech delivery was not very clear indicating health troubles but Karunanidhi seems determined to campaign in as many constituencies to avoid DMK’s complete washout in the state.

Stalin, who had worked his way up in the party first, as a youth wing leader and then as a senior functionary in the party, is now the de-facto head of the DMK.

Meanwhile, political observers in Tamil Nadu feel that it is a tough task ahead for the DMK to avoid a major defeat in the upcoming general election. The general election is being considered a litmus test to gauge whether the people of the state have forgiven the DMK for joining hands with the Congress. Even at his recent speech at a rally in Chennai, Karunanidhi has hinted at a post-poll support to the Congress clearly indicating that the party has still not detached itself from the Congress completely.