

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin has expressed confidence that the DMK-led alliance will win over 200 seats in the Assembly elections. In an interview with TNIE, he said the mood across the state is firmly in favour of “Dravidian Model 2.0 government”.
Stalin said the people’s trust in his government has grown over the past five years, driven by welfare schemes that have touched every household. Reflecting on his campaign trail, he remarked that the most striking aspect was the level of penetration of his government’s welfare schemes. The CM said that he is particularly happy about the rise in school enrolment after the introduction of breakfast scheme.
Pushing back against the suggestion that he has moved past his father M Karunanidhi’s legacy to create a unique “Stalin flavour”, he said, “This Stalin is not an individual.” He described himself as an extension of the Dravidian legacy from Periyar and Anna to Kalaignar, and said he prefers to call it “Dravidian flavour”.
On the alliance front, Stalin dismissed talk of strain, saying parties have joined the DMK because it is a “winning alliance”. He framed the contest as “Team Tamil Nadu Vs Team Delhi,” accusing the BJP of trying to enter TN “through the backdoor by piggybacking on AIADMK”. He called the ‘Illatharasi’ scheme as the election “Super Star”.