CHENNAI: DMK’s Kerala unit has intensified its work in five constituencies, bordering Tamil Nadu, with an aim to contest from any three of them in the 2026 Assembly election. Sources said the five constituencies are Punalur, Chittur, Peermade, Kalpetta and Parassala.
Moreover, the DMK high command has decided to bifurcate its Kerala unit into north and south, each comprising seven districts. Functionaries of the state unit, led by DMK’s Kerala in-charge KR Murugesan, met Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin last week in Chennai.
DMK’s organisation secretary RS Bharathi reportedly instructed them to establish branches and strengthen the party’s base across Kerala, with special focus on the districts that share borders with Tamil Nadu. Sources said the party directed them to form state-level committees by the year-end. There are also plans to field candidates in the upcoming local body elections in Kerala under the DMK’s rising sun symbol.
Following this, the DMK’s Kerala unit held a meeting at Punalur on August 9. When asked whether they would contest Assembly polls in alliance with the LDF or UDF, led by the CPM and Congress respectively, sources said the party leadership will decide.
Murugesan expressed hope of winning as there is “overwhelming support” from both Tamils and Malayalis in the bordering constituencies. “Our sole campaign message will be that Kerala will also get schemes similar to those in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
S Jaffar, Palakkad secretary of the DMK, alleged that the BJP was already creating trouble for them. “They fear the DMK’s rise in Palakkad,” he said, adding that DMK’s Coimbatore unit’s support would further accelerate the party’s growth there.