T.N. Assembly election: NTK to announce all candidates for polls on February 21

Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator Seeman on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) said that the party will introduce its candidates for all 234 constituencies in the Assembly at a conference scheduled to be held in Tiruchi on February 21.

Speaking to reporters after reviewing the party’s arrangements for ‘Maatrathai Virumbum Makkal Maanaadu’ (conference of people seeking change) to be held at Alampattipdur near Tiruchi, Mr. Seeman said he will also contest the upcoming Assembly elections. He added that the details of the candidates and electoral districts will be announced at the event, after which the party election activities will gain momentum.

He stated that the conference would be different from other parties’ conferences and that NTK would not publish a traditional election manifesto but would instead outline the “governance methodology” it proposes to follow.

Commenting on the state’s interim budget, Mr. Seeman described it as a “Budget deficit” and criticized the government’s economic policies, claiming that Tamil Nadu’s growth was due to borrowings. He reiterated that the party will not make alliances with other political parties.

Responding to senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s comments suggesting that Prime Minister MK Stalin should take the lead in the INDIA bloc, Mr. Seeman admitted that Mr. Stalin is the strongest leader in the alliance. Without Mr Stalin, the bloc would have lacked cohesion, he said, because “other leaders were divided”, whereas Mr Stalin had shown his electoral strength in previous elections and aligned himself with allies, including the Congress.