Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 21 : With a few days left for the Tamil Nadu assembly polls, BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan on Tuesday alleged that the 2026 Assembly elections will be the "Waterloo" for the MK Stalin-led "corrupt DMK regime", which he termed is "crashing to a crushing defeat".
Kesavan said there was "enormous anger and resentment" against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government and claimed that even the party's allies were distancing themselves from Chief Minister Stalin.
Speaking to ANI here, Kesavan said, "The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be the Waterloo for the corrupt DMK regime, which is crashing to a crushing defeat. There is a tidal wave of enormous anger and resentment against the DMK misrule, so much so that even DMK's own allies are avoiding and abandoning sharing a political platform with MK Stalin."
Referring to a recent video message by the Chief Minister, Kesavan further alleged that Stalin appeared "nervous" and "disturbed."
"Today, we saw the video message of Thiru MK Stalin. He looked very nervous. He looked very disturbed. You could see the fear of defeat on his face," he claimed.
He also questioned the absence of joint appearances between the Congress and DMK leadership, particularly targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"Mr Stalin would have done well to explain in this video message why Rahul Gandhi has deliberately snubbed and not even shared a single election meeting or addressed a single election rally along with MK Stalin," Kesavan said.
He added, "Why is Stalin and Rahul Gandhi not sharing a political platform? Is it because the Congress party has realised that this DMK-Congress alliance is doomed to defeat?"
Kesavan further alleged that the DMK government had lost public support, claiming that party workers were being "chased away" during campaign visits and accusing the ruling party of misgovernance.
He said, "This DMK dynastic regime has been one of the most unpopular governments. I would say this is the most resented government in the history of Tamil Nadu... people are saying that if they vote again for the DMK, it is like rolling out a red carpet to the thief."
Meanwhile on the final day of campaigning, the Chief Minister and DMK candidate from Kolathur, MK Stalin, criticised the Centre over the proposed delimitation Bill, alleging that it was an attempt to "punish" progressive states like Tamil Nadu.
Taking a swipe at the BJP-led Union Government, Stalin said, "Last week, the delimitation bill introduced by the BJP-led Union Government appeared to be an attempt to punish us, a state that has controlled population growth and is among the best-performing in industrial development."
He added that he had been among the first to oppose the proposal. "As soon as this bill was introduced, I was the first to oppose it and lead protests, including burning copies of the bill. The fire we lit has reduced that bill to ashes," Stalin said.
The political exchange comes after the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in Parliament, effectively stalling the delimitation-linked reforms. Tamil Nadu is set to vote in a single phase on April 23, with the ruling DMK-led alliance facing off against the NDA led by AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with vote counting scheduled for May 4. The key contest remains between the DMK-led alliance and the NDA led by AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.