DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin, who has over five decades of political experience in his kitty, has already emerged out of his father M Karunanidhi’s shadows by ensuring successive electoral victories for his party in a stable alliance.
In 2026, his aspirations would be to achieve what his late father could not — getting re-elected as chief minister — and to cement his position on the national stage by forming a formidable likeminded alliance against the majoritarian and centralising agenda that he accuses the BJP to be representing.
Chief ministers of other opposition-ruled states — Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala and Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal — who will also be facing Assembly elections have the arduous task of leading their parties to power respectively for a third and fourth term. Stalin is comparatively in a better position.
He would also aspire for the ‘Dravidian Model’ of governance, a term he first used in 2021 to describe the DMK’s governance model, to be his legacy. It will be no exaggeration to call the 2026 Assembly election a referendum on the ‘Dravidian model’.
However, for all these aspirations to become a reality he would want to not just ensure any ordinary electoral victory that would somehow keep DMK in power. He would want to ensure a resounding victory that will not only prevent any of DMK’s allies from demanding a share in power, but also ensure the heir apparent Udhayanidhi’s ascent is smoother.
His consistent opposition to BJP on issues of communalism and federalism, several welfare measures of the government will stand him in good stead. The opposition parties, if they remain fragmented as they are now, may make an electoral victory easier. However, the DMK has to face the anti-incumbency, especially on allegations mounted by the opposition on law and order, corruption and dynastic politics. The DMK is also wary of TVK leader Vijay, whose electoral potential remains untested.
Stalin, on his part, is leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory by keeping the party apparatus always alert by preparing for the elections at the grassroots level (booth level). He would want 2026 to reward his quality that led his father to once remark “Stalin means work, work, and work”.