CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday stepped into his eighth year as president of the DMK. Senior leaders of the party and DMK’s alliance partners extended their wishes to Stalin. To mark the occasion, Stalin posted a video of the remarks he made at the general council meeting in which he was elected as president of the party on August 28, 2018, three weeks after the death of his father and former party president M Karunanidhi.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “DMK president has been guiding us in our struggle to safeguard the soil, language, and honour of Tamil Nadu on the path shown by our past leaders Anna and Kalaingar. Let us carry out our leader’s command. Let us make the DMK come to power again in 2026.”
Udhayanidhi also recalled that at a time of severe trial, his (Stalin’s) tireless fieldwork and electoral strategies yielded successive victories, and he instilled in India the belief that fascism can indeed be defeated. Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu also greeted the DMK president on the occasion.
Stalin, who began working for the DMK at a young age, was appointed secretary of the youth wing in 1982 and elected to the Assembly in 1989. He later served as Chennai mayor, deputy general secretary and treasurer of the party. In 2009, he became deputy chief minister, rose to the post of working president in 2017, and has been serving as CM since 2021.