Stalin: Amit Shah and entire RSS battalion cannot make BJP win in TN

Lashing out at the BJP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said not only Union Minister Amit Shah, but even an entire battalion of the RSS will not be able to electorally influence the state and that the DMK would emerge victorious by defeating the saffron party.

Addressing the DMK's youth wing (north zone) functionaries' meeting in Tiruvannamalai on Sunday (December 14), Stalin recalled the hard work behind the growth and development of the wing over the decades and the work of leaders, including himself.

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Alleging that right-wing outfits were working aggressively after the BJP assumed office at the Centre for the third time in 2024, he claimed that they were spreading lies and "defamatory and retrograde thoughts", and to take on this phenomenon, the party had to vigorously campaign and disseminate its principles.

'Duty to protect India'

Stalin said, "The duty is not just to safeguard Tamil Nadu and the Tamil language. We have the duty to protect the whole of India and its pluralism. The DMK is the only state party that is ideologically fighting against the BJP in the entire country. BJP could not succeed only in Tamil Nadu."

Further, he noted that only in view of such a scenario, BJP leaders like Amit Shah were annoyed with the DMK.

Pointing out Amit Shah's assertion that Tamil Nadu was the BJP's next target following its victory in Bihar, Stalin said that it was impossible for an RSS battalion to win in Tamil Nadu.

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Stalin said, "Not only you (Amit Shah), even if you bring a whole Sanghi battalion (RSS workers), you cannot make an electoral impact and win. This is Tamil Nadu. You do not understand our character," he said, adding that, "Tamil Nadu embraces only love and will not bow before arrogance, and instead, the state will oppose it."

He asserted that the DMK would win the assembly elections by defeating the BJP.

'Question before the people'

The DMK chief said the question before the people was whether they were going to leap forward by 50 years or if they were going to allow themselves to be influenced by those who were trying to take them backwards by many years.

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"The people's answer to that question will be the Dravidian model government version 2.0," he asserted, and appealed to the cadres to work hard towards that goal of a big win in the 2026 Assembly election.

"The future of Tamil Nadu lies in the future of the DMK," he added.

'History of young leaders in DMK'

Tracing the history of young leaders building the DMK, Stalin said the DMK founder CN Annadurai was just 40 when he founded the party in 1949. At that time, several others who became top leaders later were very young; late party patriarch M Karunanidhi was only 25. They were full of energy like "fire", and the DMK became a "firebrand" by its commitment to its ideology and by its effective campaigning.

Places where people congregate in large numbers, like tea shops, were used as political platforms to educate people, and door-to-door campaign was among the campaign strategies followed, the DMK chief said, outlining the work especially during the initial decades following the founding of the party.

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He reminisced about the contributions of leaders who helped build the DMK Youth Wing, which was founded on July 20, 1980, by former chief minister M Karunanidhi in Madurai. Stalin said that the responsibility of overseeing the Youth Wing had been entrusted to Udhayanidhi, who serves as the party’s Youth Wing secretary and Deputy Chief Minister.

'Udhayanidhi, the most dangerous'

The CM praised his son Udhayanidhi, saying he is pretty strong in his understanding of ideology and following it. This has prompted rivals to lament that the DMK youth wing chief was the "most dangerous".

Udhayanidhi has realised his responsibility and he is functioning in an effective manner, the CM said.

"First, he enrolled lakhs of youths in the youth wing to strengthen it, and in order to make them strong in their understanding of the party ideology, he held special meetings," the CM noted.

Stalin also outlined several other initiatives of Udhayanidhi, including nurturing "200 new orators in the first batch", holding of knowledge carnivals (Arivu Thiruvizha), and founding a publication house to release new books to make the youth more well-versed in the party's ideology and articulate it well.

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"This is the quality of a politician," he said, praising Udhayanidhi.

"What should you do? You must take our legacy to the people," Stalin said, and wanted the youth wing functionaries to reach out to the people and apprise them about the government's solid work for the people's welfare and the state's growth.