Chennai, June 14 (IANS) The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will begin its state-wide membership drive on June 20, as part of a major organisational initiative ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin will personally meet party functionaries from all 234 Assembly constituencies as part of the programme titled ‘Udanpirappe Vaa’.

The initiative was announced by DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi, who confirmed that Stalin plans to complete these constituency-level interactions before the party’s annual Mupperum Vizha celebrations scheduled for September 17.

Under this programme, Stalin will interact directly with grassroots-level party workers — excluding district secretaries, whom he will meet separately.

The meetings are being held at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, in Chennai. The first session took place on Friday, where Stalin met functionaries from Chidambaram, Villupuram, and Usilampatti constituencies.

Sharing a message on X, Stalin wrote, “To reach out to the people with the achievements of the government, to defeat those who are desperate to bring down Tamil Nadu, and to boost the party’s robust structure — Udanpirappe Vaa.”

The Chief Minister is being accompanied during these interactions by a panel that includes R.S. Bharathi, party spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan, joint organisation secretary Anbagam Kalai, and deputy organisation secretaries S. Austin and Thayagam Kavi.

Each meeting was originally planned to last five minutes, but several interactions were extended as Stalin engaged actively with the cadre.

According to party sources, Stalin came prepared with detailed performance reports of each functionary, which formed the basis for his questions and discussions. He also sought suggestions and feedback to strengthen preparations for the 2026 Assembly polls.

In a notable gesture, each participant received a signed copy of Stalin’s autobiography ‘Ungalil Oruvan’ during the meeting. An ‘opinion box’ has been placed at the venue to collect written feedback from those who wish to share ideas or concerns they were unable to voice during the meeting.

“We will carefully review all the inputs we receive,” Bharathi said.

Stalin also reportedly enquired about the level of coordination between local functionaries and district secretaries, indicating a focus on improving intra-party communication.

The next round of meetings will resume on June 17.

Stalin is expected to be in Thanjavur on June 15 and 16 for official engagements. The DMK president has already urged party cadres to intensify efforts at the grassroots level and ensure that the INDIA bloc secures at least 200 of the 234 Assembly seats in the next state elections.

–IANS

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