N Sitharaman On Tamil Nadu Polls: "Will Be Strong Fight. DMK Seems Nervous"

Tamil Nadu Polls 2026: The NDA will give a strong fight to the DMK in Tamil Nadu, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at NDTV Profit Conclave 2026. She said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is strong and intact, and it is moving in a very concerted fashion. "It will be a strong fight... The ruling DMK cannot be confident. Their conduct in the last one year shows they are completely nervous," Sitharaman said. The comments and statements "coming from their [DMK] ministers, freebies, temple visit optics, etc" clearly show the ruling party led by Chief Minister MK Stalin is nervous about facing the election, the Union Finance Minister said. One of the limitations of the DMK, she said, appears to be its realisation that it can no longer get votes only by talking about Tamil Nadu and its development, Sitharaman said, suggesting the DMK has limited range and appeal outside of the state border.