2026 TN elections | IT wings take on political combat in real time for 2026 polls

CHENNAI: For the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, political parties are deploying highly coordinated IT wings as a central pillar of their campaign strategy, transforming the digital space into a critical arena of electoral contest.

The 2026 Assembly elections have underscored a structural shift in political campaigning, with party IT wings playing a decisive and organised role that goes far beyond the use of artificial intelligence tools.

While AI has enabled targeted advertisements, automated content generation, and hyper-local messaging, the backbone of digital campaigning remains the IT wing teams of coordinated volunteers and professionals managing narrative control, rapid response, and voter engagement across platforms.

The DMK's IT wing, known as "online udanpirappu", has focused on systematically promoting the party's five-year governance record while countering opposition narratives, particularly on the delimitation issue. Their campaigns combine data-driven messaging, testimonials, and constituency-level digital coordination to reinforce the party's achievements.

The AIADMK, on the other hand, has deployed its IT infrastructure primarily to criticise the DMK government, especially on law and order concerns. Its digital teams have also utilised AI-generated creatives and advertisements to amplify campaign messaging.

Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), which receives relatively limited attention from traditional media, has relied heavily on its IT wing for visibility. Its online cadre has been active in shaping discourse, with a noticeable increase in content targeting the TVK.

The Congress has attempted to blend organisational digital work with innovation by introducing an AI-based campaign mascot, "Rakkamma Talks", aimed at engaging voters through interactive and localised communication.

Highlighting the scale of operations, DMK IT wing secretary and minister, TRB Rajaa, said that while elections are fought offline by political parties, the online space has effectively become a battleground between IT wings.

According to him, the DMK's approach has emphasised structured impact rather than "scattered noise", involving booth-level digital agents, centralised war-room systems, dedicated websites, WhatsApp outreach, and continuous coordination with alliance partners. Rajaa also stated that the party's IT wing has actively countered misinformation and responded to political attacks with data-backed communication during the campaign.

AIADMK national spokesperson Kovai Sathiyan stated, "We use our IT wing ethically and solely for election campaign purposes. We only present the actual real truth regarding the DMK and do not share fake allegations. AI tools are very helpful in introducing our late leaders, such as MGR and J Jayalalithaa, to new voters."

A TVK IT wing functionary claimed that the party enjoys a natural advantage online due to its large, self-driven support base, particularly among fans of its leader Vijay. "Most of our campaigning is digital-first. By 2031, traditional media like newspapers and television may no longer be essential for political outreach," the functionary said.

As the election reaches its final stages, DMK's "online udanpirappu", AIADMK's "online Rathathin Ratham", TVK's "virtual warriors", and NTK's "thambikal" are showing that IT wings combining organisational coordination, digital strategy, and selective use of AI have become indispensable to modern political campaigning in Tamil Nadu.