Chennai, May 25: DMK president M K Stalin Saturday said no single state can be ignored by the government at the Centre and asserted India was not Hindi speaking states alone.
Buoyed by his party's performance in the Lok Sabha election, the Dravidian party chief for the first time said his party would take the initiative to oppose the BJP -albeit without naming it explicitly- in other states by working with outfits in those regions.
"The DMK will take constructive measures to replicate the Tamil Nadu model (of propping up secularism and DMK's victory in polls) in other states as well by coordinating with forces committed to communal harmony," he said in an open letter to party cadres.
On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected leader of the NDA, Stalin said this was the time to support and embrace people of all identities, states, adding "the days that Hindi speaking states alone was India has vanished."
The future was all about "constructive politics that centred around the states," the DMK chief said.
"No single state can be ignored whichever party took over reins of power at the Centre," Stalin asserted.
The DMK's voice will reverberate in Parliament and State Assembly to protect the people's interests, he said.
The DMK has won 23 seats and the front (Secular Progressive Alliance) led by it has won 37 of 38 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry (Congress) as well.
DMK will continue its "journey of victory," to protect people's interests, he said.
The historic win of his party-led front in the Lok Sabha polls showed the "secular approach," of the people which was nurtured by Dravidian stalwarts including reformist leader Periyar E V Ramasamy.
The people's verdict in Tamil Nadu showed that Dravidian movement -a reference to the DMK and a pointer to the Dravidian ideology which includes secularism and social justice- can never be decimated, he said.
As regards AIADMK's jibe that despite good showing in the polls, DMK's goal has not been realised, he said it was a "reflection of the frustration of the ruling party and political rivals."
The DMK had vowed to return to power in the state by winning the bypolls to all the 22 Assembly seats and strongly pitched for a government led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the Centre.
Apart from emerging as the third biggest party in the Lok Sabha, the DMK has wrested 12 seats from the AIADMK pushing its total strength in the Assembly to 101, Stalin said.
The DMK retained Tiruvarur in the by-elections and totally won 13 constituencies in the Assembly bypolls while the ruling AIADMK won 9 segments warding off the probability of threat to its government.
The AIADMK's strength has now risen to 123 while 118 members are enough for a simple majority in the 234-member House.
Stalin credited the DMK's victory to party workers and support of allies including the Congress.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lucknow (PTI): Denied a ticket from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday wrote an emotional letter to the people of his constituency in which he asserted that his relationship with them will remain intact till his last breath.
Sharing the letter on X, he said, his relationship with Pilibhit is one of love and trust which is far above any political calculations.
The BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh Public Works Minister Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit replacing Gandhi, who has been vocal against his own government several times on the issue of inflation and unemployment.
Prasada had filed his nominations on this seat on Wednesday.
Recounting his association with the constituency, he said "Today, when I am writing this letter, countless memories have made me emotional. I remember that little three-year-old child who came to Pilibhit for the first time in 1983 holding the fingers of his mother. Little did he know that one day this land would become his work place and the people here would become his family".
"The ideals given by Pilibhit were instrumental in my upbringing and development not only as an MP but also as a person. Being your representative has been the greatest honour of my life and I have always raised my voice for your interests to the best of my ability," he said.
Varun Gandhi said his tenure as an MP may be coming to an end, but his relationship with Pilibhit can't end till his last breath.
"If not as an MP, then at least as a son, I am committed to serve you throughout my life and my doors will always remain open for you as before. I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man and today I seek your blessings to continue doing this work always. Even if I have to pay any cost for this," he added.
This is for the first time in over three decades that the mother-son duo of Maneka and Varun Gandhi will not be in the fray from the Pilibhit constituency which is located in the Terai belt bordering Nepal.
The denial of ticket to Varun Gandhi this time did not come as a surprise as he has been criticising the BJP on the issues of farmers, health and jobs.
After he was replaced by Prasada, reports did the rounds that Varun Gandhi might contest from the seat as an independent candidate. The suspense ended on Wednesday when he did not turn up before the nominations ended.
His mother Maneka Gandhi, the sitting MP from Sultanpur, was, however, given another chance from the same seat by the BJP.
The Pilibhit seat has remained with Maneka Gandhi or her son Varun Gandhi since 1996.
Maneka Gandhi won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989, lost in 1991 and won again in 1996. She won from the constituency in 1998 and 1999 as an Independent candidate. She won the seat in 2004 and 2014 as a BJP candidate.
Varun Gandhi won the seat in 2009 and 2019 as a BJP candidate.
प्रणाम पीलीभीत 🙏 pic.twitter.com/D6T3uDUU6o
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) March 28, 2024