M. K. Stalin on Monday said he had a hope that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) would once again take over power in Tamil Nadu, while echoing criticism on the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for mismanaging the surprise victory in the polls without having a proper organisational structure.
Stalin told the workers belonging to the party of the DMK not to lose faith due to the defeat in the Assembly elections. The party was strong at the grassroots level and he assured its supporters that the DMK would make a comeback in future elections, he said.
Stalin described TVK’s newly established party as “heavy on social media” without mentioning TVK leader Vijay by name, and said that they were able to make it without having a proper political organisation. He noted that during the elections allegedly TVK did not have booth agents or counting agents in many constituencies.
With 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, TVK has become the single largest party in the state – one of the most impressive political comebacks after former chief minister M. G. Ramachandran’s 1977. Vijay was also the first leader other than the DMK and AIADMK to become chief minister since 1967.
Stalin stated that the DMK had been preparing for a long time with campaigns like ‘Ondrinaivom Vaa’ and by augmenting booth-level organisation, youth wing activities and constituency-level organisation.
He also pointed out that even after the change of government many welfare programmes launched under the DMK government are still continuing in the state and this is the proof that the “Dravidian model” is continuing to influence the governance in the state.
There was no immediate response from TVK to Stalin’s remarks.