DMK MP Tamilachi Thangapandian is campaigning across Tamil Nadu ahead of the Assembly elections, addressing rallies and public meetings in support of alliance candidates.
She said the DMK government has delivered a strong performance over the past five years, highlighting improvements in areas such as Velachery, which were earlier prone to heavy rains.
“Today I am in Velachery constituency to support alliance candidate JMH Hassan Moulaana (Congress). Our government has delivered well in the past five years, and Velachery, which was prone to heavy rains, has improved under the current government and the Chief Minister, MK Stalin. Some water drainage projects have been wonderfully executed here already. We have carried out many development works, and nearly 90 per cent of the issues in Velachery have been resolved,” she said.
Referring to the DMK’s electoral promises, she said the party had made 500 promises and fulfilled 405 of them, alleging that the remaining could not be implemented due to a lack of cooperation from the Union government. She also claimed that the BJP and AIADMK would not win even a single seat in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Citing the party’s governance model, she said several flagship welfare initiatives of the DMK government have received wider recognition.
“The Union government has adopted 13 schemes implemented by the Dravidian model government. You can verify through RTI that 13 flagship programmes have been executed by us. The women’s hostel scheme and the breakfast scheme have even been adapted internationally. It is the Union government that is copying our programmes, and people know this very well,” she said.
She also accused the Union government of favouring private corporate players in infrastructure.
“The Union government has handed over ports and airports to private players like Adani and Ambani. Then how can they say that the DMK is a corporate company? They have privatised everything. The DMK government is always for the people, by the people, and stands for the people,” she added.
Expressing confidence about the alliance’s prospects, she said the DMK-led alliance expects to win more than 200 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Targeting the NDA, she questioned its electoral presence in the state.
“Show me one single seat they have secured in Tamil Nadu in recent parliamentary elections. If they cannot secure even one seat, how can they claim they are going to win?” she said.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, she alleged that the party follows “washing machine politics” by inducting opposition leaders.
“Mafia is the word which can be put in synonym with and equivalent to BJP, a washing machine. They put all the corrupt people in their washing machine, and then they accept them. You can see this in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh,” she said.
“But in Tamil Nadu, any so-called secret alliance is not our concern. The DMK has a 75-year legacy, and the Congress party is a national movement with its own legacy. So we are not worried about all the ‘mushroom parties’,” she added.
Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu, she said it benefits the DMK-led alliance politically.
“PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu is an advantage for us. Whenever he comes and shows what we believe is fake love for Tamil, people realise the truth and vote against the BJP. So we welcome his visits. The more he visits Tamil Nadu, the more advantage it brings to our alliance,” she said.
(With inputs from ANI)