Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin said on Monday that his party will rebound, asserting that the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party came to power using social media platforms like Instagram and lacks organizational structure.
He asked DMK cadres not to worry. “Our party is here. Our movement is here. You don’t have to worry about anything. Work with confidence that we will definitely come back to power again. We will come back.”
Actor-turned-politician Chandrasekar Joseph Vijay’s newly formed TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats, short of the majority mark of 118 seats in the 234-member assembly. It was the most impressive debut in Tamil Nadu since the talismanic M. G. Ramachandran in 1977. Vijay became the first non-DMK and All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief minister since the formation of Tamil Nadu in 1967.
Stalin said the DMK has started preparations for the 2026 Assembly elections after the 2024 Parliamentary elections by appointing booth-level agents and registering members under the ‘Ondrinaivom Vaa (Come, Let Us Unite)’ campaign. “We held regional conferences for the youth wing and appointed officials for each constituency. But why could we not come to power after doing such work?” he asked. “Without doing any work…they[TVK]did not meet the voters. They did not appoint booth agents…they did not even appoint counting agents in many places. These people won and came to power.” He said without naming TVK. [TVK)didnotmeetthevotersTheydidnotappointboothagentsTheydidnotevenappointcountingagentsinmanyplacesSuchpeoplehavewonandcometopower”hesaidwithoutnamingTVK
He said the DMK has formulated plans to counter social media-based campaigns. Stalin said he had asked the new administration to continue the schemes implemented during the DMK rule. “Today, we can clearly see that the request you made has been fulfilled. Therefore, we are the ones who continue to remain in power. No one can erase the plans that were implemented.”
As long as these schemes exist, the Dravidian model continues in Tamil Nadu, he said. He added: “We were not discouraged by the electoral defeat.”
There was no immediate response from TVK to Stalin’s comments.
