DMK sharpens women-centric pitch with booth-level mobilisation plan

Party sources said that with a clear eye on women voters, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has asked the district secretaries to identify 10 women in each polling booth to take the State government’s welfare narrative directly to the grassroots.

The exercise, which is planned to last from February 1 to March 8, is intended to sharpen the party’s campaign, especially on programs targeting women, as the elections approach.

According to sources present at the last meeting of district secretaries in Chennai this Tuesday, the party high command has instructed that women selected from DMK cadres should focus on disseminating government plans, announcing governance achievements and distributing campaign pamphlets at the booth level.

Party functionaries say the initiative is designed to tie into the already elaborate booth management system that the DMK has created over the past year. “DMK is by far ahead of many political parties in the state when it comes to grassroots work. This organizational depth, built stand by stand, remains our greatest strength,” said a senior district-level DMK functionary.

In the current structure, there is one Booth Level Representative-2 (BLA-2) at each booth, one Booth Level Committee member (BLC) and one Booth Digital Representative (BDA) for every 100 voters. The role of BLCs is to maintain close contact with voters, monitor access to outreach programs, and assess voter sentiment; BDAs update this information through mobile applications and WhatsApp groups, while BLA-2 oversees the process. Branch secretaries review stand activities weekly and report to district leadership, which in turn informs the party’s high command.

A senior official from Nagapattinam explained: “A booth with around 1,000 voters usually has 10 BLCs, each responsible for 100 voters. Many already know which households have benefited from schemes like old age pension, bicycle, laptop or Magalir Urimai Thogai and who needs to be kept track of.” “This system has been stabilized through the SIR process and the party now has confidence in the structure and monitoring mechanism it has created.”

With this framework in place, the addition of 10 women per booth is expected to deepen support among female voters. A BLA-2 woman from Alangudi in Pudukkottai district said that the foundation stone has been laid during the preparations for the regional level Vellum Pengal Manadu. “We were previously asked to nominate 10 women per booth for this exercise, so the choice will not be difficult. It is more persuasive and effective if women campaign among women. There is real interest among female cadres at the booth level and this will also increase their participation in other party activities,” he said.

The renewed focus on women-led mobilization comes at a time when actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is seen in political circles as having the potential to attract women voters across social and economic segments.

However, not all party cadres follow the system without reservation. A DMK branch secretary from Orathanadu in Thanjavur district said that although the structure at the booth level was “solid”, some workers felt that it had become task-oriented rather than political. “A big part of the job now involves checking which household gets which program and coordinating with authorities if something is pending. Sometimes this feels more administrative than ideological,” he said.

Another senior official from Nagapattinam pointed out that mobilization of all workers could be challenging in some stands. He also noted that the system was effective in retaining the party’s existing voter base, but offered limited scope to reach new or undecided voters.