Chennai: The chief minister, who once boasted that even his five-minute address would shake the world, is now “doing somersaults to win votes in a single constituency”, said DMK president M K Stalin. Campaigning in the Madurantakam assembly constituency on Saturday for the party’s bypoll candidate I Paranthamen, the former chief minister exhorted the voters to make “Oct 6 the day that ends arrogance and betrayal”.“It is rare for chief ministers to campaign for a byelection. Why is our CM so tense? He himself has no confidence in his govt. In the 2026 general election, he would not have held even 10 campaign meetings in total. Look at his condition now! He is parading through every nook and corner of Madurantakam. I like your fear, CM sir,” Stalin said.The former CM said the bypoll should have been avoided. “It is an election imposed upon you. Four months ago, you elected someone. But to provide crutches to this govt, which lacks a majority, they resigned and are now shamelessly seeking votes again on a different symbol. Has an MLA ever resigned immediately after winning an election in Tamil Nadu? Never! This election is happening because of blatant horse-trading,” he said.“Do you know how arrogantly the ruling party people are speaking? They say, ‘even if we field a dog on behalf of TVK, people will vote for it’. What a despicable mindset! Such things are disgusting and shameful to hear in Tamil Nadu. You must curb this arrogance. Will you do it?” he asked the voters.Stalin acknowledged that DMK had made the mistake of not considering TVK as a major force before the assembly elections. “Back then, we did not think of them as a serious force. We fought against our ideological opponents, and ignored this circus of clowns. In addition, several lakh people’s voting rights were taken away due to the SIR of electoral rolls. For these few reasons, we lost in the polls,” he said.“Cheap minister sir – I will call him cheap minister from now on, because he himself has come down in stature. Going through shortcuts, stealing MLAs, kidnapping an AMMK member to get a support letter. We do not need such shortcuts to topple your govt. The people will end your govt through the right path,” he said.Stalin also spoke on the law and order situation, violent crimes, drug trafficking, power outages, and shortages of essential commodities such as Aavin milk and basic groceries in the state.Earlier in a video post on X, Stalin urged voters of the Thattanchavady constituency in Puducherry to reject both the AINRC-BJP front and the Congress, and appealed to them to support the DMK candidate to bring genuine administrative accountability and raise the statehood demand. He said that despite making grand campaign promises to secure full statehood for Puducherry, the AINRC-BJP alliance failed to take meaningful steps once in power.“Puducherry is now becoming a ‘kolai cherry’ (a region of murders). Law and order has collapsed, transforming the territory into a crime hub with frequent daylight crimes,” he said. Stalin alleged that during the previous elections, the Congress betrayed the DMK by fielding candidates against official DMK nominees. He called upon the electorate to ensure the Congress candidate forfeits his deposit.
