Chennai: Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu may be two years away from now, but the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has taken the lead by constituting a coordination committee with Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin as a member to come up with strategies, including changes within the organisation, for the crucial polls.
Though the DMK has repeated the 2024 Lok Sabha poll committee for 2026 as well, the presence of Udhayanidhi in the panel along with four senior leaders– K N Nehru, E V Velu, and Thangam Thennarasu, and Organising Secretary R S Bharathi -- is significant as it comes close on the heels of Chief Minister M K Stalin toying with the idea of appointing his son as his deputy.
The five-member panel had its first meeting on Sunday during which the need to increase the number of district units for better coordination among partymen, enhancing the party’s presence on various social media platforms, and the need to identify performers and non-performers during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were discussed.
On Monday, members of the committee met Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin and briefed him about the discussions they had on Sunday.
Party sources insisted that Udhayanidhi's inclusion in the committee should be viewed only as a “routine development” and not from the prism of the intense speculation about his promotion as deputy chief minister. A member of the coordination committee told DH that it was a regular affair in the DMK to constitute such panels to come up with strategies for elections and there is nothing “special” about the latest development.
“The panel will review the performance of the party across the state in the Lok Sabha polls and prepare the district and local units for the 2026 elections. We will meet on a regular basis to come up with strategies for the 2026 assembly polls,” the committee member added.
Sources said Sunday’s meeting also discussed the need to create more party posts at the grassroots level. The coordination committee will also assess the political situation and give suggestions as the DMK prepares for the crucial battle which is likely to be a crowded affair with the entry of actor Vijay’s Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
Prof. Ramu Manivannan, who teaches history at the University of Madras, told DH that the move was aimed at “revitalising” the DMK, both at the leadership and at the grassroots level especially in the backdrop of the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi and a spate of murders.
“The DMK has been on the backfoot for the past few weeks. There is a silent anti-incumbency against the government and people are not happy over the developments in the past one month. The DMK wants to take a step forward and be seen as more articulate. That’s why such a committee has been formed,” Manivannan added.