As part of grassroots mobilisation ahead of polls, DMK to enlist star speakers

Investing in grassroots mobilisation ahead of the assembly elections, the DMK has drawn up plans to organise public meetings in all 234 constituencies from February 1 to 28 with 20 star speakers addressing the gatherings, party sources said.

In addition to the public meetings, the party has also instructed star speakers to hold separate interactions with prominent figures of the constituency, students, youth, trade unions and others. Along with the speakers, the zonal in-charges and district secretaries have also been instructed to create awareness of the welfare schemes implemented by DMK government and discuss the demands and expectations of the participants.

The list of speakers include Tiruchi Siva, Dindigul I. Leoni, Manoj Pandian, Dayanidhi Maran and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

According to the party sources from Thoothukudi , some of the major tasks given by the party currently include solidifying its vote bank among women through booth level campaigns with women from the same booth taking the lead.

“A few months ago in Thoothukudi, numerous grievances were submitted seeking women’s rights grants. However, through ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ programme and zonal grievance redressal meetings held in corporations most of them were resolved and the maximum number of eligible persons were covered under the scheme. These kinds of initiatives will make the initiative easier for the assigned members,” the source noted.

“For instance, if a booth has six streets, women assigned to take State government’s welfare schemes would already have an understanding of household-level issues, the number of voters and other details. This helps build trust between the party and the voters,” he said.

He further observed that, the party functionaries were approaching voters at grassroot levels, to understand their expectations and address them. “This approach has been followed in every election, including the last Lok Sabha polls,” he said.

Through the ‘En Vakku Chavadi-Vetri Chavadi’campaign, details of voters in every household have been collected, to ensure higher voter turnout in favor of DMK candidates. “We are also regularly checking whether every member of the household has received welfare they are eligible for,” the source said.