DMK President M K Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: DMK President M K Stalin on Monday asked observers appointed to oversee election preparatory work in all 234 Assembly seats to keep their constituencies “battle-ready” in about a year from now to achieve the goal of winning about 200 seats in the 2026 polls.
Stalin also asked the observers, a majority of whom are youngsters, to think “out-of-the-box” to devise winning strategies in their constituencies.
He also told them to reach out to the beneficiaries of the DMK dispensation’s flagship schemes and ask them to canvas for votes for the party.
“Lok Sabha elections got over just a few months ago and today we have gathered to prepare the ground for Lok Sabha polls. There is no doubt that we will win the 2026 Assembly elections too. Our target is 200 seats, and you have to start working towards the goal from now,” Stalin told the observers.
The meeting comes a day after popular Tamil actor Vijay formally launched Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam and identified the DMK as his “political enemy.” DMK actually began preparing for the Assembly elections immediately after the Lok Sabha polls by constituting a Co-ordination Committee with deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and other ministers as its members.
Stalin asked the coordinators to visit their respective constituencies and begin their work after holding discussions with district secretaries and ministers.
“It is your duty to keep the constituency battle-ready in about a year’s time from now. Please work towards ensuring the victory of the party candidates in your constituencies,” the Chief Minister added.
The observers were hand-picked by Udhay and his team and the list was made public after he was designated as the deputy chief minister, placed No. 3 in the cabinet next only to his father Stalin and senior-most minister Durai Murugan.
The observers will check the preparedness of the party machinery and the effectiveness of the booth committee.
The Co-ordination Committee which has a mix of senior and experienced leaders has been quite active in the past few months with Udhay himself chairing meetings with several frontal organisations to prepare them for the polls.