CHENNAI: Declaring that the ruling DMK faces “only pro-incumbency” ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday asked cadre to secure a minimum of 350 votes in each of the 75,000 polling booths across TN.
Addressing party functionaries from Chennai and Villupuram zones at a booth committee conference titled ‘Nam Vakku Chavadi, Vetri Vakku Chavadi’, Stalin said the mood on the ground was favourable to the ruling party and stronger than that in 2021.
“There is no anti-incumbency. There is only pro-incumbency,” he asserted, citing the government’s welfare schemes and infrastructure push as reasons for the positive sentiment.
Stalin said if the party achieved the target of 350 votes per booth, it would translate into over 2.6 crore votes statewide. He directed each booth-level worker to be in constant touch with at least 100 assigned voters and meet them a minimum of five times before polling day.
“Direct interaction with voters remains the most important. You must ensure they come to the booth and cast their vote,” he said.
Calling the 2026 contest a decisive political battle, the DMK president said the Assembly election would not merely be between two alliances but a choice between “Tamil Nadu or Delhi”.
He urged cadre to explain the achievements of the Dravidian model government over the past five years and caution voters against “divisive politics”.
Listing major infrastructure projects in Chennai and neighbouring districts — including the Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital, the Kilambakkam bus terminus, new flyovers, park developments and lake restoration works — Stalin said the government’s performance in its first term formed the “blueprint” for the next five years.
He asked party workers not to worry about alliance seat-sharing or candidate selection, adding that the leadership would take care of those aspects. “In all 234 constituencies, remember that it is Stalin who is the candidate,” he said.
Calling booth-level workers the “roots of the DMK banyan tree”, Stalin said their grassroots mobilisation would determine the scale of victory. “If we work with unity and discipline, a sweeping victory is certain,” he concluded.