On Saturday, DMK president M K Stalin addressed an election rally in Madurantakam, near Chennai, questioning Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s silence on nationwide concerns over electoral integrity and the call for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Stalin noted that, aside from the BJP and its allies, parties across India have demanded the CEC’s resignation, citing massive protests in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi. He asked whether a leader who refuses to speak on such a critical issue can truly represent the people.
The DMK leader alleged that the voting rights of more than 13 crore citizens have been compromised and that elections in several states have been rigged, calling the current regime a “mysterious corporate mafia” rather than a functioning democracy. He warned that the TVK’s “veil” would soon be torn to expose a covert understanding with Delhi and urged voters to deliver a decisive “shock treatment” in the upcoming byelection to end political horse‑trading.
Stalin urged residents of Madurantakam and Dharapuram to vote for DMK candidates—I Paranthaman in Madurantakam and S Suganya in Dharapuram—ensuring a decisive victory. Udhayanidhi Stalin, the opposition leader, labeled TVK candidates P Sathyabama and Maragatham Kumaravel as betrayers of voters’ trust for shifting from the AIADMK to the TVK, and called for rejection of the ruling party’s candidates.
