Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar. File
| Photo Credit: R. Ragu
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) will file a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the alleged body-shaming remarks made by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin about the TVK’s Dharapuram candidate, during his campaign on Friday (October 2, 2026), said Minister C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar on Saturday (October 3).
Accusing Mr. Stalin of making derogatory remarks against the TVK candidate, P. Sathyabama, Mr. Nirmal Kumar told reporters in Coimbatore that it was condemnable that Mr. Stalin could say this about a Scheduled Caste woman who was fighting the polls in Dharapuram.
He alleged that the DMK was going “the AIADMK” way and would contest the 2029 elections in alliance with the BJP and the AIADMK. Mr. Stalin and the Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin did not know what they were saying anymore, because they were speaking out of frustration. They would lose the byelections in both Dharapuram and Madurantakam constituencies, Mr. Nirmal Kumar said.
“We are criticising the DMK as an ‘evil force’ because it is a party that is harmful to society. The DMK cannot ask people to vote for Mr. Stalin or Mr. Udhayanidhi, and it cannot cite any good work it has done,” he said. Refuting allegations that the TVK was paying voters, Mr. Nirmal Kumar said the party would not give a single rupee for votes as this was against its policy.
‘TVK has opposed SIR’
The TVK was always against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and if the exercise had been carried out properly, the party would have won 160 seats in the Assembly elections, he claimed.
The AIADMK was now “Edappadi’s AIADMK” and not the one founded and developed by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, Mr. Nirmal Kumar said. Mr. Palaniswami had seen so many defeats and yet, he was still holding on as the party head, he said.
When asked about the huge amounts spent for barricades for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s campaigns, he said they were installed for public safety.
‘No power cuts’
Speaking about a recent communication to high-tension electricity consumers, asking them to switch to gen sets in the evenings, the Minister for Electricity said there had been a shortfall last week because of a drop in the allocation from the Neyveli plant. It was managed by purchasing power from the market, he said, adding that there were no power cuts anywhere in the State due to the shortage of power. “We will go for tenders in the next two to three months for long-term power purchase contracts,” he said.
On Mr. Stalin’s allegation that the GST revenue in the State dropped because of the TVK government, he said his party came to power just three months ago. “How can the TVK be the reason for the drop in GST revenue,” he asked.
Published – October 03, 2026 12:35 pm IST
