Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M Karunanidhi’s son MK Alagiri, who was the party’s south zone organising secretary before being expelled in 2014, on Wednesday criticised his younger brother and Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly MK Stalin (pictured above) after the party suffered an embarrassing defeat in the recent Radhakrishnan Nagar bye-elections.

DMK candidate N Marudhu Ganesh forfeited his deposit after receiving only 24,651 votes.

“The DMK will not win any elections as long as Stalin is the working president of the party,” Alagiri told regional news channel Puthiya Thalaimurai.

Alagiri said it was wrong of DMK leader Durai Murugan to allege that the party’s workers had been swayed by the money on offer. “How insulting it is to the hardworking party cadres to call them sell-outs,” Alagiri said. “They have worked to build the party and elevate the party to power since Anna’s [former Chief Minister CN Annadurai] time and Kalaignar’s [M Karunanidhi] time.”

Alagiri said the party needed a change in the leadership. “There needs to be talent and hard work. It is not enough to get on the stage or stand in a van and ask for votes,” he added. The former DMK leader said though district leaders were working hard, someone should supervise it properly.