DMK president MK Stalin told a Chennai party gathering on Saturday that upcoming Assembly byelections in Tamil Nadu stem from the death of democracy. Speaking at the Mupperum Vizha, he stated that vacancies in Madurantakam and Dharapuram occurred because elected AIADMK members resigned and ran again under the ruling TVK, rather than the seats opening due to a legislator’s death. He urged cadres to take this message door to door ahead of the October 6 polls.
Stalin also criticized Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, mocking the ruling party as Tamilaga Reels Kazhagam and claiming the Chief Minister stays in perpetual shooting mode for social-media content. He alleged that previous DMK welfare schemes were stopped or renamed for TVK to claim credit, and he attacked the administration over law and order, rising prices of rice, pulses, and sugar, dengue worries, and industrial stress during power outages.
Additionally, Stalin questioned why investment memoranda involving Indian companies were signed in London without the industries minister or secretary, and he claimed the ruling side lacks a clear Assembly majority while relying on horse-trading. Other DMK leaders at the event supported the attack, framing the byelections as a referendum on early TVK governance.