Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin said on Monday that his party will bounce back, maintaining that the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) came to power using social media platforms like Instagram and lacks organisational structure.
He asked the DMK cadres not to worry. “Our party is here. Our movement is here. You need not worry about anything. Work with confidence that we will definitely return to power again. We will return.”
Actor-turned-politician Chandrasekar Joseph Vijay’s newly formed TVK emerged as the single-largest party in Tamil Nadu with 108 seats, falling short of the 118-seat majority mark in the 234-member assembly. It was the most impressive debut in Tamil Nadu since talisman MG Ramachandran in 1977. Vijay become the first non-DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief minister since Tamil Nadu was formed in 1967.
Stalin said the DMK started preparations for the 2026 assembly polls after the 2024 Parliamentary elections by appointing booth level agents and enrolling members under the “Ondrinaivom Vaa (Come, Let Us Unite)” campaign. “We conducted Youth Wing regional conferences, and appointed in-charges for each constituency. But, having done such work why we could not come to power?” 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. Such people have won and come to power.” he said, without naming TVK.
He said the DMK has formulated plans to counter social media-based campaigns. Stalin said he requested the new administration that the schemes implemented during the DMK rule should continue. “Today, we can clearly see that the request I made has been fulfilled. Therefore, it is we who continue to remain in governance. No one can erase the schemes that have been implemented.”
{{/usCountry}}He said the DMK has formulated plans to counter social media-based campaigns. Stalin said he requested the new administration that the schemes implemented during the DMK rule should continue. “Today, we can clearly see that the request I made has been fulfilled. Therefore, it is we who continue to remain in governance. No one can erase the schemes that have been implemented.”
{{/usCountry}}He said as long as these schemes exist, the Dravidian model continues in Tamil Nadu. “We have not been disheartened by the electoral defeat.”
There was no immediate response from the TVK to Stalin’s comments.