Muthuvel Karunanidhi, who will be 83 this June, is seeking re-election from Chepauk here for the May eight Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, setting a record in the history of state politics.

Incidently, this is the first time the DMK leader has chosen to contest from the same constituency for the third successive term. He was elected from Chepauk in the 1996 and 2001 Assembly elections.

Mr Karunanidhi, who was Chief Minister for four terms in a total tenure of 14 years, made his debut in 1957, when the DMK, formed in 1949 after separating from Justice Party, entered electoral politics.

The DMK stalwart has not looked back after his maiden win. Except in 1984, when he did not contest as he was member of the now defunct Legislative Council, Mr Karunanidhi won all elections he contested.

After his victories in Kulithalai in 1957 and Thanjavur in 1962, Mr Karunanidhi moved to Chennai city, which by then had emerged as a DMK bastion. He won from Saidapet in the 1967 and 1971 elections, before switching over to Anna Nagar.

He represented Anna Nagar in 1977 and 1980 and chose to become a member of the Council during 1984-86. He won twice from Harbour in 1989 and 1991.

In the 1991 Assembly poll, held in the aftermath of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, the DMK suffered its worst defeat and Mr Karunanidhi emerged as the party's lone winner. He, however, resigned the seat.

In 1996, when the DMK came back to power, Mr Karunandhi represented Chepauk and got re-elected from the same constituency in the last elections, which the party lost. He stayed away from attending the Assembly.

Initially it was speculated that Mr Karunanidhi would shift to nearby Triplicane, also a Muslim dominated constituency, but he scotched these rumours, by fielding himself from Chepauk.

Mr Karunanidhi also has the dubious distinction of his government being twice dismissed by the Centre, under Article 356 in 1976 during the Emergency and 1991 on charges of encouraging the LTTE.

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