Historic 7th term within reach, Stalin sets DMK’s 2026 target at over 200 seats

CHENNAI: In a spirited call to action, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Sunday vowed to lead his party to a historic seventh term in power, setting an ambitious target of winning over 200 seats in the 2026 Assembly elections.

Addressing the DMK executive council meeting at the party's headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, Stalin exhorted his cadre to embark on a mission to secure a decisive victory, emphasising that the party's success hinges on their tireless efforts.

"We have only one and a half years left for the 2026 Assembly elections. Our goal is to form the government for the seventh time. Our alliance will win more than 200 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections. Victory in 2026 is ours," Stalin declared. He cautioned party workers against complacency and stressed that winning 200 seats would not be an easy task.

"It will not come easily. Everyone here should pledge to make our party win again for the seventh term," he noted.

In a veiled dig at actor-turned-politician Vijay, Stalin warned that the DMK's ideological alliance, the INDIA bloc, would not be swayed by "wrong calculations" by its opponents.

"Many people are making political calculations against our ideological alliance. I firmly state that all the calculations would be proven wrong. The victory is on the side of our alliance," Stalin asserted.

The DMK president also took a swipe at the Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, questioning his arithmetic. He ridiculed him for a 'flawed' calculation of AIADMK's vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Stalin pointed out that the AIADMK's vote share had plummeted from an average of 4.16 lakh votes per Lok Sabha seat in 2019 to just 2.61 lakh votes in 2024.

"The AIADMK workers laugh at the vote share data shared by their leader Palaniswami, who the people have rejected," Stalin remarked.

Stalin accused Palaniswami of attempting to mimic the late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa. But he (Palaniswami) will be ultimately remembered for his betrayals and crimes, Stalin added. "He thinks he can shout his way. He assumes he would treated on par with Jayalalithaa or MGR. But no matter how he shouts, everyone will remember only his betrayals and crimes. The history of DMK is a sacrifice, but Palaniswami's entire life is a betrayal," Stalin said.

Stalin also launched a broadside against the nascent TVK, cautioning his cadre against being distracted by "opponents who are not worthy of being our enemies."

"Not all those who oppose us are worthy of being our enemies. There will be those who oppose us to get attention for themselves. Do not fall prey to their distractions," Stalin advised.

Instead, Stalin instructed his party workers to focus their energies on defeating the "real enemies."

"A strategy is necessary to face the elections. We must tell the people that the AIADMK and the BJP, whether they come as a direct, indirect or illicit alliance, are a grave great danger to Tamil Nadu and the Tamil race," Stalin warned.