Gearing up for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Tuesday launched an online membership drive called ‘Ellorum Namudan’ (Everyone is with us) with the aim of enrolling 25 lakh new party members over the next 45 days. The DMK launched the drive on the 112th birth anniversary of the DMK founder and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai.
DMK President M K Stalin launched the online drive at the Kalaignar Arangam in the presence of various District Secretaries, MLAs and important party functionaries. The party said that more than 35,000 people have joined DMK in less than 24 hours through the online portal.
More than one lakh party cadres and office bearers will take part in the enrollment drive. The party said that anyone over the age of 18 can register online to join the party without any membership fees. Background details will be verified by local party representatives and they would be eligible to vote in the intra-party elections only at the end of one year.
Explaining the necessity of an online drive, Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Secretary of the Youth Wing of DMK said, “DMK is a party that has constantly been adapting itself to the rapidly changing situations that are being thrown at us. In this era, when the internet has reached even the smallest of hamlets, Ellorum Nammudan aims to put power in the hands of everyone who wishes to become a party member. Given the pandemic that has reduced our chances of interacting with the people, we believe that Ellorum Nammudan will help us interact and communicate with the people.”
According to the website, “Online members can be eligible for voting rights subject to physical verification if they meet any of the following two criteria – If they complete one year as a DMK member without any violation of any membership rules (or) if they get 25 new members to join the party.”
“We know that the people want to support us, and have been waiting for an opportunity to do so and Ellorum Nammudan will achieve exactly that! With many like-minded people who want to tackle issues pertaining to education and access to healthcare, like we do, I am confident that we will easily cross 25 lakh registrations in 45 days,” Udhayanidhi added.
Earlier, the party had launched ‘Ondrinaivom Vaa’, a helpline that was kickstarted on April 20 to hear the grievances of people in distress during the pandemic across Tamil Nadu. According to the party, over one crore people benefitted from this scheme.