''Kalaignar'' (scholar), as he is popularly known, was born in June 1924. But he still attracts the same adulatory crowds in Tamil Nadu that he used to even in the 1960s.

"I am 82 and I have achieved everything I could and ever wanted to. Now I live only for the people," is what this veteran politician tells his electorate these days, ahead of Monday''s assembly elections.

When the first DMK chief minister C. Annadurai died in 1969, Karunanidhi became chief minister. He has held the post of party chief since 1969 and he has been chief minister of Tamil Nadu four times (1969-71, 1971-74, 1989-91 and 1996-2001).

He is fighting for an assembly seat from the smallest constituency of the state, Chepauk, for a third time running.

He entered public life at the age of 14 and was founder of the first student wing of the Dravidian movement called ''Tamil Nadu Tamil Manavar Mandram''.

Karunanidhi started his career as a scriptwriter in the Tamil film industry, but his wit and oratorical skills rapidly made him a popular politician. He wrote historical and mythological stories that propagated the rationalist ideals of Dravidian movement.

In the 1950s and 60s, he wrote scripts for films like ''Parasakthi'' (1952) that saw Sivaji Ganesan, who later became a legend, debut as an actor.

In 1951 he wrote ''Thayilla Pillai'' and in 1963 ''Iruvar Ullam'', around a theme of polygamy.

Excerpts from Karunanidhi''s autobiography, "Nenjukku Needhi", are often staged in play form at party conferences, where popular actor Vagai Chandrasekar dons the role of Karunanidhi and portrays the three stages of the leader''s life.

Karunanidhi''s long political career has spanned over 60 years, often dogged by allegations of corruption.

M.G. Ramachandran, founder of the rival AIADMK, first accused Karunanidhi and his associates of appropriating party funds, and split away from the DMK in the early 70s.

In 1975, when "Emergency rule" was imposed on the country, New Delhi named a judge to probe corruption charges levelled by MGR against the DMK. The judge indicted the Karunanidhi government, which was dismissed in 1976.

Karunanidhi became controversial when he denounced the deployment of the Indian troops in Sri Lanka in 1987 and then refused to welcome the returning troops three years later.

Karunanidhi wears a yellow shawl, supposedly recommended by astrologers to keep him under the guardianship of planet Jupiter whose colour is yellow.

His son, M.K. Stalin, is widely expected to succeed him as leader of the party, which has drawn for Karunanidhi criticism of promoting his family.

On June 30, 2001, on charges of corruption, the AIADMK government ordered his arrest around midnight, a development that brought the government of Tamil Nadu into direct conflict with New Delhi.

In the 2004 parliament election, the wily Karunanidhi chalked up an anti-AIADMK alliance that swept all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.

Today Karunanidhi hopes to bounce back to power in Tamil Nadu at the head of the state''s first coalition government if the DMK does not secure a majority of its own in the legislature.