Eyeing 200 seats in 2026 polls, can win more with youth wing contribution: DyCM Udhayanidhi Stalin

CHENNAI: Deputy Chief Minister and DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin has set a target of winning 200 seats for his youth wing members and advised them to take it as their duty to win more in the 2026 Assembly polls.

Addressing a meeting of the DMK youth wing’s state, district and city level functionaries at Salem late Sunday, Udhayanidhi, in his first such meeting since the elevation to the office of Deputy CM, said, "200 is our target (in the Assembly polls). On behalf of our youth wing, we must win more than that. We have started our election work (for 2026) even now."

Referring to the coordination committee constituted by the party president for the 2026 polls, Udhayanidhi said that the panel is eliciting views of every wing and addressing their concerns. "The requests you made are nothing compared to the ones put forth by them. We will soon meet the youth wing functionaries and discuss various issues related to the polls. You must work keeping that in mind," the DMK youth wing secretary said, insisting that the youth wing functionaries must ensure the delivery of government schemes to the people and do whatever the people need with the support of ministers, district secretaries, MPs and MLAs in respective districts.

'People know how EPS became CM'

Taking strong exception to Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami's criticism of his elevation, Udhayanidhi told reporters at the city airport Monday afternoon that the people of the State know how he (EPS) became CM, nudging past several seniors in the AIADMK.

"When the question of the next Chief Minister arose in the AIADMK after Jayalalithaa's demise in 2016, several seniors like Sengottaiyan, Semmalai and Dindigul Srinivasan were in the party then. Panruti Ramachandran who was a senior to all of them was also there. The people know how Edappadi nudged past all of them and went on to become the Chief Minister. Tamil Nadu people watched on television the kind of events and drama that unfolded in AIADMK at Koovathur resort. EPS must first take stock of his situation before criticizing others," Udhayanidhi said.

The Dy CM said that EPS was never concerned about the state's people's welfare. Udayanidhi referred to the DMK's involvement in the rain relief works and said that EPS left for Salem without inspecting the rain damages when Chennai was reeling under floods.