COIMBATORE: Reminding the incumbent promises made before the 2021 Assembly elections and its track record in the last four-and-a-half-year rule, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday termed the ‘Ungaludan Stalin' scheme, seeking and redressing pubic grievance at the doorstep, as a drama enacted to hoodwink the public in the 2026 polls.

Speaking to the media in Salem, the Leader of the Opposition said that in contrast, it is an effort to collect contact details of the public, including their mobile numbers, apparently referring to the ruling party’s ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’ drive to increase party base. DMK had conveniently forgotten the people over the last four and a half years, Palaniswami said, referring to the Chief Minister MK Stalin’s public outreach initiative, which was launched on July 15. “At these (Ungaludan Stalin) camps, the mobile numbers of people will be taken down and handed over to the DMK’s IT wing,” he accused.

Palaniswami flagged Stalin’s promises made during the 2021 poll campaign. “MK Stalin then received petitions assuring people that he would resolve them after coming to power. If those were addressed, why do such grievances still exist? Everything is a drama to fool people,” he said.

Taking a dig at Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks on problems in the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Palaniswami said Udhayanidhi Stalin is not an astrologer to predict whether the lead opposition party’s alliance is strong or not.

“There are lots of contradictions within DMK’s alliance. Udhayanidhi could better resolve those issues first, rather than poking his nose into the rival combine. The AIADMK alliance is strong and the party will form the government with a simple majority in the 2026 assembly polls,” he said.

Exuding confidence in the chances of many more parties joining the AIADMK alliance, Palaniswami said there is a long eight-month gap before the polls, leaving the window open for parties such as the PMK.

Referring to his campaign across various parts of the State, after commencing his election campaign on July 8, Palaniswami said he could see a wave of support for the opposition party, claiming that he could witness a giant anti-incumbency wave among the public. “Law and order has deteriorated and corruption has become all pervasive in all departments,” he said, also criticising the government for not curbing smuggling of mineral resources to neighbouring Kerala and Karnataka.

“Once the AIADMK forms the government, all the irregularities in the DMK government will be investigated and action taken,” he said.