DMK Taps Kanimozhi To Head Poll Manifesto Team, Aims To Replicate 2024 Sweep

The DMK has constituted a 12-member manifesto committee under Thoothukudi MP MK Kanimozhi as the ruling party steps up preparations for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due next year.

The committee includes former MP and senior DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan, along with three key ministers - IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), Industries Minister TRB Rajaa and Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhian. Also part of the team are former bureaucrat G Santhanam and IT entrepreneur Suresh Sambandam, CEO and coordinator of the 'Dream Tamil Nadu' initiative.

According to party sources, the committee was handpicked by Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin. The team will travel extensively across Tamil Nadu, interacting with people from all walks of life to gather inputs that will shape the party's election manifesto.

This is the second time Kanimozhi has been entrusted with this responsibility. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, she headed a similar exercise, after which the DMK-led alliance swept all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry.

Speaking to NDTV, Kanimozhi said the party would focus on credibility. "We will not give empty promises. Only what is possible will be included," she said.

The DMK, which has won three consecutive elections since 2019, is aiming for a second straight term in power - a feat previously achieved only by the AIADMK. While the DMK alliance remains intact and the AIADMK-led front appears divided, the electoral debut of actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay, who enjoys a strong fan following, has added a new element of uncertainty.