CHENNAI: Hinting at the party’s resolve to seek more seats in the DMK alliance in the 2026 Assembly election, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Wednesday said securing more seats for the party is as important as fighting the communal AIADMK-BJP alliance in the Assembly election.
Launching the CPM’s state-wide ‘People’s Meeting Campaign’ on Wednesday, Shanmugam said, “Under the current political circumstances, the DMK-led alliance remains the most viable platform to counter this communal threat.”
Reiterating the need to electorally defeat the AIAMDK-BJP combine, the CPM leader, however, said the party’s foremost political objective in Tamil Nadu will be to defeat the BJP alliance. “But we also aim to contest and win more seats in the upcoming elections to strengthen the party’s presence in the state Assembly,” Shanmugam said. He acknowledged that all alliance partners naturally seek more seats and expressed confidence that the DMK leadership would make reasonable decisions during negotiations.
Responding to criticism over the party’s vote share in the last election, Shanmugam said such assessments are misleading when based solely on the limited number of constituencies the party had contested. He pointed to regions like Kanniyakumari, Coimbatore, and Tiruppur -- where the party did not field candidates despite its strong base and past electoral victories – as evidence of the CPM’s wider presence in the state.
The campaign, condemning the Union government’s “anti-people” policies, will run from June 11 to 20.
Campaign launched
The CPM launced its state-wide ‘People’s Meeting Campaign’ on Wednesday. The campaign, condeming the Union government for its anti-people policies, will run from June 11 to June 20, party’s state secretary P Shanmugam said.