CHENNAI: Sabareesan Vedamurthy, son-in-law of former Chief Minister M K Stalin, on Monday defended his political consulting and communications firm PEN, which had played a key role in the recently concluded Assembly election campaign of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

What did Sabareesan say about criticism against PEN?

In a statement, Sabareesan said criticism and public scrutiny were natural in a democracy and should be welcomed.

Replying to the allegations that PEN was the key reason for the DMK’s electoral setback, he said reducing a large political outcome to a single narrative would not reflect reality.

“Oversimplifying a large political outcome into one narrative is not useful because it does not reflect reality,” he said.

What did PEN say about the DMK’s election setback?

Sabareesan stated that PEN was created with the intention of strengthening political communication, engaging with people digitally and introducing modern outreach methods into public and political engagement.

He said the organisation remained committed to introspection and understanding shortcomings honestly.

“Following the footsteps of former Chief Minister Stalin, PEN is committed to listening deeply and understanding our shortcomings honestly,” he said.

The statement comes amid internal discussions within the DMK over the reasons behind the party’s unexpected defeat in the 2026 Assembly election.