CHENNAI: After a massive membership drive launched on April 4, the DMK now has more than two crore members, according to the updated website of the party. The portal was re-launched on Saturday by DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin to mark the centenary celebrations of former chief minister M Karunanidhi.
Under the head, ‘Our Strength,’ the website says, “We have over two crore party members, 23 wings, 125 MLAs, 20 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs. The party is expected to submit details on the enrolment of new members to the Election Commission of India soon. Now that the membership drive has added a significant number of cadre to the party, the DMK will start engaging itself in strengthening booth committees ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Stalin had said in a statement that the membership drive was aimed at doubling the number of party cadre. A separate website, https://www.udanpirappu.com, was launched exclusively for enrolling new members.
It may be noted that the principal opposition party, AIADMK, which has been boasting about 1.5 crore members, has also expedited its membership drive to reach two crore members.
The DMK website says in a separate column: “DMK is committed to bolstering Dravidian cultural cooperation in the four linguistic states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka under the unity of Indian sovereignty and constitutional law, as formulated by Arignar Anna. The party aims at building and protecting the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India while upholding the values of equality, secularism, and democracy.”
The updated website explains what is Dravidian ideology and why social justice is its core objective besides about the party’s crusade against oppression. The website has timelines for leaders of the Dravidian movement: Periyar EV Ramasamy, CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi and MK Stalin. An elaborate history of the DMK is also given, right from the launch of the Justice Party in 1916. The website has descriptive videos about the achievements of the DMK government.