CHENNAI: Seeing the swell of party cadres assembled outside Rajaji Hall , S K Vadivel’s eyes welled up: “He will be very happy that so many people have taken up our cause,” said the 92-year-old former MLA from Thottiyam, a panchayat town in Tiruchirappalli , referring to his leader. When everyone else referred to M Karunanidhi in past tense, for Vadivel, 1969 is his present; and in his world the DMK supremo had only recently become Tamil Nadu ’s chief minister.

“He will do well. He has always believed in fighting for the poor,” said the nonagenarian, who suffers from memory loss. A tide of party workers had separated Vadivel from his family.

With a towel thrown over his head to protect himself from the heat, and garbed in a black shirt paired with veshti lined with DMK party colours, Vadivel was led by a neighbour who had accompanied the family from Trichy. At one point from the gate to the hall, he stopped, perplexed.

“Why am I wearing black? He will be upset if he sees me in black. We should be celebrating his victory,” he said. When his attendant said others were wearing black too, he became calm.

