People will put an end to dynasty rule of DMK in 2026 Assembly election: Edappadi K. Palaniswami

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday said his party would secure an “absolute majority” and form the next government in the State in 2026.

Addressing a gathering of party workers following a roadshow on Thiruchitrambalam Road in Vanur in Villupuram district, he said the people were disillusioned with the DMK and will put an end to its dynasty rule in the 2026 assembly election. “The DMK has not fulfilled a majority of electoral promises it made to the people in 2021. Though Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has been claiming that the DMK had kept all its promises, the reality was that only 10% had been fulfilled,” he alleged.

Mr. Palaniswami said: “In the 2021 election manifesto, the DMK said minimum working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) would be increased from 100 days to 150 days, education loan taken by students would be waived, and ₹100 in subsidy would be given for every domestic LPG cylinder. But these promises remain unfulfilled. The list is endless.”

He said the DMK government was anti-people, and the 100% increase in residential property tax, 150% increase in tax on commercial properties, and the drastic increase in power tariff had hit the people hard. Prices of essential commodities have risen, subjecting the people to untold hardship, he alleged.

Mr. Palaniswami said that during his tenure as Chief Minister, an Executive Order was issued, granting 7.5% horizontal reservation for NEET-qualified students of State-run schools in undergraduate medical admissions. He also alleged that a university established by the AIADMK government in Villupuram in the name of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was abolished by the DMK government.