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Massive preparations are in full swing for the 12th State Conference of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), scheduled to be held in Trichy on March 9 (tomorrow).
The conference venue is being set up at Siruganur along the Trichy-Chennai National Highway across nearly 400 acres, with an additional 200 acres earmarked for vehicle parking. Nearly 10 lakh party cadres from across Tamil Nadu are expected to attend the mega event, which is seen as politically significant ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Large-scale arrangements, including a massive stage, giant LED screens, dining halls and drinking water facilities, are being made. Road widening works are also underway around the venue to manage heavy traffic. As part of the opening ceremony, a 100-foot flagpole has been installed at the site for hoisting the party flag. DMK Principal Secretary and Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru said the conference will begin at 3 pm, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin will hoist the party flag at around 5:30 pm to formally inaugurate the conference. Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 11 in Trichy. The meeting is scheduled to be held on a 22-acre site near Edamalaipatti Pudur. The venue is located near the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway and is approximately 5 kilometres from the Trichy International Airport. BJP Tamil Nadu State President Nainar Nagendran told reporters, "The NDA public meeting in Tiruchirappalli would be conducted on the scale of a major conference, with participation expected to exceed five lakh people. "In recent developments in the run-up to the elections, on Wednesday, DMK and Congress finalised their seat-sharing formula after the second round of talks. Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai expressed joy after securing 28 assembly seats along with one seat in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from the DMK. "This is a very happy moment for us. We have received 28 seats from the DMK, and I sincerely thank all our national and state leaders who made this possible. The alliance would strongly oppose divisive and fascist forces," he said. The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the incumbent MK Stalin-led Secular Progressive Alliance will look to win against the BJP-AIADMK-led NDA. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest. In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively. While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats. (ANI)
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