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DMK wants young blood to join Dravidian ranks. It's counting on role with mouthpiece, fellowship
Chennai: As Tamil Nadu's political landscape changes, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is mounting a massive outreach to curry favour with the younger generation.
The ruling DMK's youth wing, led by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, is preparing to roll out two schemes as part of its efforts to promote its ideology among the youth: the Kalaignar Student Reporters' Scheme and a fellowship for writers and researchers working on the state's Dravidian history.
Sources in the DMK youth wing told ThePrint that both schemes, aimed at raising political awareness among the youth, would be rolled out in a couple of weeks. A party source said actor Vijay's entry into politics has spurred the DMK's youth wing to ramp up its efforts as the party faces competition for the youth voter base. 'Although efforts to politicise the youth and mobilise them under the DMK were on the cards for a long time, they are being stepped up after the entry of Vijay into politics,' one source told ThePrint.
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Apart from the two schemes, the DMK youth wing has also made a few organisational changes to reach out to more younger people in the coming days. Although the party has an IT wing to mobilise support on social media platforms, the DMK Youth Wing has started appointing functionaries exclusively for the youth wing's social media.
The youth wing, which had one organiser and five deputy organisers for each district, has added one more deputy organiser post. 'In the newly created deputy organiser post for each district, persons active on social media and have the potential to reach out to the masses in their respective place through social media will be appointed,' one of the functionaries of the DMK youth wing told ThePrint.
Political commentators ThePrint spoke to see the move as a renewed effort by the Dravidian parties to inculcate their ideology among the youth.
'There have not been any serious efforts in the state to reach out to the youth. After a long time, the DMK is taking up such an initiative, and it is a significant step, which would help them not just in the 2026 elections but build a strong base for the party in the coming years,' said Chennai-based political commentator N. Sathiya Moorthy.
Earlier in 2024, the ruling party had also selected 100 orators from across the state to take its ideology to the younger generation and inform them about welfare schemes implemented by DMK governments in Tamil Nadu.
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