With the announcement of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections expected shortly, the ruling DMK alliance has intensified its groundwork to retain power. On the other side, the AIADMK–BJP combine has been mounting pressure on the ruling establishment on multiple fronts.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a communication regarding the registration of a case against Tamil Nadu minister K.N. Nehru. The issue is being amplified by leaders of the AIADMK and the BJP. Amid these political headwinds, Nehru has chosen a different strategy — quietly planning what is being projected as a massive turning-point conference in Tiruchirappalli.

Signalling to the Opposition that the “main picture” will unfold in Trichy, Nehru has asserted that the conference there will set the tone for the 2026 Assembly elections.

In a statement, Municipal Administration Minister and DMK Deputy General Secretary K. N. Nehru said preparations are under way for a grand administrators’ conference in Tiruchirappalli on March 9, expected to witness the participation of 10 lakh party functionaries.

“We are preparing in a manner that will make India watch in awe. The Trichy conference should not merely be termed a turning-point conference, but one that will decisively secure victory in all directions. The gathering in Tiruchirappalli must serve as a proclamation of the party’s triumph in the 2026 Assembly elections,” he said.

Referring to ongoing outreach initiatives ahead of the polls, Nehru said the party has been working at “lightning speed” through campaigns such as ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’, ‘En Vakkuchavadi Vetri Vakkuchavadi’, ‘Vellum Tamil Pengal’, youth wing administrators’ meetings, booth-level agents’ training programmes, women’s wing conferences, and door-to-door mobilisation drives. However, he underscored that, as indicated by the party leadership, the Trichy State Conference would be the “main picture” in the run-up to the Assembly elections.

Nehru called upon all party office-bearers — from headquarters functionaries to district, city, town, union, area, panchayat and ward-level secretaries — as well as organisers and deputy organisers of all wings, MLAs, MPs, executive committee and general council members — to ensure full participation.

He directed district secretaries to convene preparatory meetings at district and lower organisational levels to finalise participation numbers, vehicle arrangements and logistical planning. Details of vehicles departing from each district are to be submitted by March 1 to facilitate parking and traffic arrangements in Tiruchirappalli.

He further instructed that no party functionary should miss the conference and that cadres must maintain “military discipline” until the conclusion of the party president’s address. District secretaries have been advised to leave for the conference venue only after ensuring that the last vehicle from their district has departed.

Invoking evocative imagery, Nehru said cadres should converge in Tiruchirappalli “like the surging Cauvery, like unstoppable sea waves,” and pledge to make M. K. Stalin Chief Minister once again. “Let the Dravidian Model 2.0 governance continue. Let Stalin continue, let Tamil Nadu triumph,” he declared.