DMK president M.K. Stalin on Saturday (August 22, 2026) said that though there were many reasons for the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections, the performance of its functionaries was one of them.

“We have to acknowledge our mistakes first. We must admit them openly. The organisation suffers because of the performance of an individual,” he said while addressing the party’s high-level executive committee, which adopted the proposals to revamp the party organisation.

Mr. Stalin said the changes proposed to the party’s organisational structure would be “tough” and would taste “bitter to some”. “But only a bitter taste is good for health. All of you should cooperate. The changes will keep the party vibrant for the next century,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said a street lamp that lights up an entire village would fail to illuminate the darkness beneath it. “In a similar manner, we failed to identify the shortcomings in the party,” he said, adding that the changes were being made based on the recommendations of the revamp committee headed by former Minister Thangam Thennarasu.

Age and tenure limits

Mr. Stalin reiterated the need to win the confidence of the youth and women, saying that the party’s activities should be aimed in that direction. “We are going to fix an age limit and tenure for party functionaries and offer many positions to new faces. We should soon launch a new membership drive, and it should be transparent and honest. There will be proper elections at all levels,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said he strongly believed that those who were elected would perform better than those who were nominated. “The only way to achieve political victory is through revamping the party. We should revamp the party as quickly as possible,” he said.

Pointing out that a change of mindset among party functionaries was vital, he said that even those who were committed to the ideology and possessed a fighting spirit often lacked the ability to take party workers along with them.

“There are some whose faces light up at the sight of leaders of opposition parties, but not that of the DMK men. They do not even greet them. They think that no one should grow to be their equal. We cannot build a party and win elections through a district secretary and an MLA alone. The party will grow only when every cadre functions like a party functionary. When new faces enter, seniors should welcome and guide them,” he said.

Importance of ideology

Mr. Stalin said those who had assumed power in Tamil Nadu had achieved it without working for the people, launching protests, having an ideology, or building an organisational structure. “We should not be like them, and we must not. We should not run the party like them,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said DMK members should discuss and debate politics at home with their children and family members. “We should propagate the party ideology among our relatives and win the votes of our neighbours,” he said.

“We are specialists in comebacks,” he added.