Karunanidhi family

The Karunanidhi family is an Indian political family that has had considerable influence on the politics and cinema of Tamil Nadu. The most notable member of the family was M. Karunanidhi, who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms and was the leader of the DMK party from 1969 to 2018. Karunanidhi's grandnephew, Dayanidhi Maran, has served as a Union Cabinet Minister for two terms—once as the Minister of Information and Technology and once as the Minister of Textiles. One of Karunanidhi's sons, M. K. Stalin, is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He has been elected as a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly five times and has also served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Another son, M. K. Alagiri, was the Minister of Chemicals in the Union Cabinet and also the DMK’s coordinator for South Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi's daughter, Kanimozhi, is a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha. His grandnephew, Kalanidhi Maran, is the owner of Sun Network—the second-largest television network in India—as well as Sun Pictures, a Tamil film production company. The fourth generation of the family, including Arivunithi, Dayanidhi Azhagiri, Udhayanidhi Stalin (a Member of the Legislative Assembly), and Arulnithi, are active in the Tamil film industry. The significant presence of Karunanidhi's family members in both the Union and State governments has led to frequent accusations of political nepotism. Two members of the family, Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran, were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for their alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum case. However, the CBI failed to prove the charges, and the Delhi High Court acquitted both. The fourth generation of the family has also faced criticism for allegedly using political influence to gain advantages in the Tamil film industry.