CHENNAI: Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday said the Western region, the Kongu belt, which is considered a stronghold of the opposition AIADMK, should prove itself as a fortress of DMK in the upcoming assembly polls.
Addressing a consultative meeting of youth wing functionaries in Coimbatore, he urged party cadres to counter claims by rival parties that the region, particularly Coimbatore, remains their bastion.
“Not just Coimbatore, but the entire western belt must be proven as a DMK fortress through electoral success,” he said, while stressing the importance of a coordinated grassroots campaign.
He directed youth wing members to intensify door-to-door outreach, highlighting welfare schemes and development initiatives implemented over the past five years under Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, Udhayanidhi Stalin said that the party was attempting to expand its footprint in the State, but its political strategies would not work out in Tamil Nadu. He further remarked that the election has effectively become a contest between “Delhi and Tamil Nadu,” criticising Edappadi K Palaniswami for holding frequent consultations with Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alliance matters by visiting Delhi.
Predicting a major electoral setback for the opposition, he said the DMK would emerge victorious regardless of attempts by its rivals to field their ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams. “They all lack any ideological clarity,” he said.
Reiterating the party leadership’s electoral ambitions, he noted that while a target of 200 constituencies had been set, cadres should work towards winning all 234 seats. He added that the momentum for this victory must begin in Coimbatore, where the party had faced setbacks in the previous Assembly elections.