Stalin's face front & centre, I-PAC hits ground running to shape DMK campaign for 2026 polls

The Print

18-06-2025

'Although, we are working round-the-clock on social media to counter the narrative and the criticisms by the opposition AIADMK, he suggested us to increase our social media presence, stating the present social media engagement would not be enough ahead of the 2026 assembly election,' a DMK IT wing functionary told ThePrint.
Sources in the DMK told ThePrint that Rishi Raj Singh, who now leads the I-PAC after Prashant Kishor left, held detailed discussions with the leadership, and had marathon meetings with different departments including women's wing, IT wing, apart from having a separate the Populus Empowerment Network (PEN), the party's own political strategy firm.
Chennai: With around 10 months to go for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) has launched its campaign for the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), advising the party to strengthen its social media presence to counter the narrative of main rival AIADMK, focus on promoting Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and engaging with the youth.
Rishi Raj Singh was in the city for the last couple of months and guided the party's strategy before its general council meeting 1 June.
In the general council meeting, DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced he will be meeting party functionaries constituencywise to take stock of the election preparations.
'The meeting was named Udanpirape Va. It was the idea of the I-PAC and they have taken over the campaign completely,' a source in the IT wing told ThePrint.
The word Udanpirape (dear brethren) has been used by DMK leaders since its formation and it was former chief minister M. Karunanidhi who used the word to address party cadres.
Sources in the I-PAC said the campaign for the DMK has been designed to make party leader Stalin the face of the 2026 assembly election.
'In our survey, we found that MK Stalin's appeal as the chief minister surpassed that of the party. So, we decided to make him the face of all campaign, before promoting the party and its symbol,' the source at I-PAC told ThePrint.
The DMK is already running several campaign including the Oor Aniyil Tamil Nadu' (Tamil Nadu united as one) against the BJP-led Union government. Rishi has also suggested the DMK functionaries make a coordinated attack at the opposition AIADMK to increase the social media engagement.
The Populus Empowerment Network (PEN), for its part, is on the content delivering spree to the I-PAC and other wings of the party, apart from increasing its media monitoring including social media, to ensure their campaign is not sabotaged.
'The work of I-PAC and PEN will go together. It's a coordinated effort towards the end result, which is the victory in the 2026 assembly election,' a PEN spokesperson told ThePrint.
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Focus on youth
The DMK's youth wing, led by Udhayanidhi Stalin, has taken a series of measures to reach out to the youth in the state, and the I-PAC has suggested the party to increase their presence among the youth, especially with actor-turned-politician Vijay launching his own party.
A source at the I-PAC said Vijay's party workers' presence on the ground is not great and what is seen on their social media is 'completely different' from the ground reality. 'Nevertheless, he is likely to play a spoilsport in at least 15-20 constituencies in the state which is a cause of concern,' the source said.
The source also indicated the I-PAC is planning more youth-centric campaign.
Udhayanidhi on trail
Meanwhile, the DMK Youth Wing leader and deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi, who has hired political strategist Sunil Kanugolu, began his statewide campaign trail last month.
A source working in Kanugolu's team told ThePrint, 'The campaign was designed by our team. We are taking care of the image-building and ground strategy for deputy chief minister,'
On 16 and 17 June, Udhayanidhi visited Sivaganga and Theni to meet party workers and initiate welfare activities on the ground.
'The move aimed at increasing his presence on the ground and to attract youths from across regions, instead of focusing just on the state headquarters. The districts were chosen based on the previous performance (visiting areas where the party performed poorly in the last state elections),' the source added.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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