Rejig a bitter pill, but will renew party for 100 years: DMK president Stalin

CHENNAI: DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday announced a major restructuring of the party organisation following its defeat in the Assembly election, saying the changes would be "strict" and "bitter" but necessary to ensure the party remains strong for the next 100 years.

Addressing the party executive committee meeting at Anna Arivalayam, Stalin said the DMK had witnessed both victories and defeats and that the recent defeat was only an electoral setback. "We have not been permanently defeated. Let us consider this as an opportunity to plan the party's future," he said.

Stalin said a comprehensive self-assessment was required, rather than merely identifying and replacing individuals constituency by constituency. He acknowledged that the functioning of party administrators was also among the reasons for the defeat and said the party must openly accept its mistakes.

He said a 38-member field study team had been constituted after the election to collect feedback from party functionaries constituency-wise. Thousands of additional suggestions were also received through a dedicated website and reviewed by him.

Based on the feedback, a restructuring committee headed by Thangam Thennarasu was formed, and its recommendations were discussed with senior party functionaries before being converted into resolutions, Stalin said.

As part of the revamp, age limits and tenure restrictions would be introduced for various party posts, while more responsibilities would be given to younger and new faces.

"We need to regain the confidence of young people and women. New membership enrolment should begin soon, and it must be genuine and transparent," Stalin said.

He said internal elections would be conducted at all levels after the membership drive, expressing confidence that capable new functionaries would emerge through elections rather than nominations.

Stalin also cautioned party functionaries against failing to nurture colleagues at the grassroots level. He took a dig at an unnamed functionary, saying that some are ready to greet opposition party leaders with a 'vanakkam' but not rivals from their own party. A district secretary or a single MLA alone could not strengthen the party, he said, stressing that every cadre should function as an organiser.

Stalin said the DMK would work for the welfare of even those who had not voted for the party and urged cadres to begin political outreach from their own homes, to relatives and in their neighbourhoods.

"Victory or defeat will not determine the life of our movement. As long as the Tamil identity, language and land exist, we must work with the determination that the black-and-red flag should continue to fly," he said.