DMK President M. K. Stalin on Thursday said he would take full responsibility for the party’s defeat in the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
He announced that a panel would be constituted to examine the reasons for the defeat and submit a report within 20 days.
Stalin also took a swipe at the AIADMK, saying the DMK was mature enough not to lodge its legislators in resorts after the election results.
His remarks referred to the AIADMK shifting its newly elected MLAs to a resort in Puducherry following the May 4 Assembly election results, in which no party secured the required 118-seat majority to form the government on its own.
Addressing district secretaries at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, Stalin said no party had won a majority to form the government.
“The C Joseph Vijay-led government is now in power due to the support of coalition partners. They formed the government with the backing of the Left parties, VCK and IUML,” he said.
He also said, “Past election results showed that whenever we lost power, we won only a very small number of seats. This time, we won 59 seats. If we add the seats secured by our allies, the tally rises to 73.”
Stalin said electoral success and defeat were part of politics and likened them to life’s ups and downs.
“That is why, unlike other parties, we did not lodge our MLAs in resorts and star hotels out of fear, but were brave enough to face defeat,” he said, targeting the AIADMK.
He added that he had worked continuously over the past five years and ensured the previous DMK government functioned for public welfare.
“People are aware of this. I do not want to blame anyone for our inability to return to power. As the leader of the party, I take responsibility for this defeat. When I can take pride in victory, there is nothing wrong with taking responsibility for failure rather than blaming others. That is only fair,” he said.
Referring to the TVK winning the floor test in the Assembly with 144 votes, Stalin said the ruling party had demonstrated its majority in the House despite not winning an outright majority in the election.
On the AIADMK, whose 25 MLAs voted in favour of the TVK government during the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Vijay, Stalin said:
“There is no need to explain how the AIADMK will behave. In this situation, it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Therefore, we must act properly and efficiently in the Assembly.”
(With inputs from PTI)
