<p>The <strong>DMK </strong>head served as the <strong>chief minister of Tamil Nadu</strong> for five separate terms in the 1969–2011 period.</p>
<p>Towering T<strong>amil Nadu politician Muthuvel Karunanidhi</strong> breathed his last on Tuesday, August 7 2018, in Chennai after battling ill health for weeks.<strong> He was 94.</strong></p>
<p>Doctors at the <strong>Kauvery Hospital</strong> kept the leader on maximum medical support but his health continued to decline. It was becoming a challenge to keep his vital organs functioning, doctors had said on Monday.</p>
<p>Fans and supporters of the five-time chief minister kept a strict vigil outside the hospital, praying for his recovery. <strong>Chants of ‘Ezhundhu Vaa Thalaivaa’ (Awake, our leader) and ‘Vaa, Vaa, Gopalapuram Polaam Vaa’ (Come, Come, let's go to Gopalapuram) could be heard outside the hospital.</strong></p>
<p>According to reports, Riot Control police was also deployed to contain the emotionally-charged party workers who turned up in large numbers.</p>
<p>The <strong>DMK patriarch</strong> was admitted to Kauvery hospital following a drop in blood pressure on July 28. Since then, the medical status of the 94-year-old has gone through ups and downs.</p>
<p>After a health scare, the doctors extended his period of hospitalisation due to age-related overall decline in his general health, altered liver functions and haematological parameters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Key political milestones of M Karunanidhi:</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<ul>
<li>June 3, 1924: Born in Thirukkuvalai near Tiruvarur, composite Thanjavur district.</li>
<li>August 10, 1942: As self-styled leader of ‘Tamil Nadu Tamil Maanavar Mandram’, launches ‘Murasoli’ in Tamil as handwritten manuscript.</li>
<li>September 17, 1949: Among the ‘Founding members’ of the DMK at the rally at Robinson Park in old North Madras, where DMK was launched.</li>
<li>July 1953: Arrested for the ‘Kallakudi Agitation’, demanding renaming of Dalmiyapuram railway station as part of the anti-Hindi agitation, along with poet Kannadasan and others; Karunanidhi was convicted for six months for that stir.</li>
<li>February 1954: Returns to Chennai to a hero’s welcome at Egmore station.</li>
<li>April 1957: Elected for first time to the Madras (later Tamil Nadu) Legislative Assembly from Kulittalai constituency near Tiruchy; Noted for his anti-Zamindari campaign there in the run-up to the Assembly polls that year.</li>
<li>1959: DMK founder C N Annadurai honours Karunanidhi for steering DMK to victory in Madras Corporation elections.</li>
<li>1961: Karunanidhi made DMK Treasurer.</li>
<li>1962: Deputy leader of the Opposition in the Assembly on election from Thanjavur constituency.</li>
<li>March 1967: PWD Minister in Annadurai-led first DMK Ministry, after elected from Saidapet Assembly constituency in Chennai that year.</li>
<li>February 10, 1969: Sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after untimely demise of his leader and mentor Annadurai</li>
<li>July 27, 1969: Elected as President of DMK, a post he held till the end.</li>
<li>March 15, 1971: Takes charge as Chief Minister in his second term</li>
<li>1983: Quits Assembly membership over Sri Lankan Tamils issue</li>
<li>January 27, 1989: Comes back as CM for third time after MGR’s demise. </li>
<li>June 1991: Quits Harbour Assembly seat, owning moral responsibility for DMK’s defeat in the General elections that year.</li>
<li>May 13, 1996: Assumes office as CM for fourth time after leading DMK to a massive win in alliance with G.K. Moopanar-led Tamil Maanila Congress.</li>
<li>December 31, 1999- January 1, 2000: Presides over unveiling of the massive 133-feet tall statue of saint-poet Thiruvalluvar at Kanyakumari.</li>
<li>May 13, 2006: Sworn in chief minister for fifth time, elected from Chepauk constituency in Chennai. </li>
<li>February 12, 2009: Undergoes major spinal surgery that confined him permanently to a wheel-chair; missed the Republic Day Parade for the first time that year in his long over eight-decades-long public life.</li>
<li>April 28, 2009: Goes on a sudden, indefinite fast at Anna Square on the Marina in Chennai to press the Sri Lankan government to announce a ceasefire in its war against the Tamil militants in the Island’s North.</li>
<li>June 23-27, 2010: Organises first World Classical Tamil Conference, at Coimbatore, pinnacle of his love for Tamil language and literature.</li>
<li>August 10, 2017: Steered by his son M K Stalin, Karunanidhi visits ‘Murasoli’ office in Chennai on occasion of its ‘Pavazha Vizha’, a rare visit outside his Gopalapuram house where he stayed put since his second bout of illness in October 2016.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<div>
<div></div>
</div>