Tensions have been brewing between I-PAC managers and DMK leaders. The I-PAC team, operating out of Teynampet with fewer than 30 staffers — mostly young imports from other states — has been tasked with drafting strategies. But the actual on-ground execution is done by Pen, manned by seasoned veterans.
Published Sep 04, 2025 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 04, 2025 | 1:10 PM
Synopsis: Political camps in Tamil Nadu are sharpening their weapons for the upcoming electoral battle in 2026. They have PR generals as strategists in their war rooms, but DMK, which hired more than it needs in a bid to exhaust AIADMK’s options, is facing a peculiar situation with seasoned leaders with ears on the ground finding the agencies irritating.
As Tamil Nadu inches closer to the Assembly elections in 2026, the ruling DMK, the Opposition AIADMK, and other political outfits — big and small — are pulling up their socks for the upcoming electoral battle.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, and DMDK’s Premalatha Vijayakanth have already begun their statewide campaign tours. The DMK, determined to retain power, recently launched its flashy Ooraniyil Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nadu as One Front) mass membership drive.
Beyond street-level spectacles, the real battlegrounds for these parties are social media platforms. The invisible generals commanding the ‘armies’ are political PR agencies.
A few months ago, the DMK roped in I-PAC, in addition to its long-serving in-house team, Pen, to design and execute its campaign strategies. It even reportedly inked a deal with Robin Sharma’s Showtime Consultancy, which, according to party insiders, has so far been lying low, without carrying out any visible work for the DMK.
Meanwhile, it has been rumoured that the DMK deliberately struck deals with almost every well-known strategy firm, not necessarily to use them, but to make sure AIADMK won’t get their services. Still, reports suggested that the AIADMK succeeded in roping in a team that had handled Pawan Kalyan’s campaign in Andhra Pradesh.
As for the newly launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, John Arockiasamy has been brought in as its election strategist. South First had reported that the upcoming election looks less like a battle of ideologies and more like a turf war between PR agencies.
The DMK already has Pen — its own exclusive strategy outfit — and beyond that, a formidable IT wing led by Minister TRB Raja, running strong offices across every district.
Further, the DMK added I-PAC under Rishi Raj Singh for the 2026 campaign, along with several subcontractors. In fact, dozens of small strategy firms are working on different platforms for the DMK. Ministers and party leaders also run their units. Altogether, more than 50 firms are said to be working for the DMK.
Yet, the party’s last two flagship campaigns have ended in headaches. One was the Ooraniyil Tamil Nadu mass membership drive; the other was the government’s people-centric Ungaludan Stalin (Stalin with You) programme that promised one-stop services across departments.
Both campaigns waded into court cases and faced setbacks. While the Ungaludan Stalin initiative managed to reach some people, the Ooraniyil Tamil Nadu drive visibly slowed following the legal tussle.
Meanwhile, tensions have been brewing between I-PAC managers and DMK leaders. The I-PAC team, operating out of Teynampet with fewer than 30 staffers — mostly young imports from other states — has been tasked with drafting strategies. But the actual on-ground execution is done by Pen, manned by seasoned veterans.
Unsurprisingly, the two groups don’t get along.
From the beginning, this mismatch has been apparent: Pen has senior hands who know the Tamil Nadu terrain, while I-PAC is staffed largely by youngsters from other states — many of them armed with glittering degrees from top universities and institutions. Impressive on paper, but the ground realities of Tamil Nadu politics have made the clash between theory and practice all too visible.
Lately, I-PAC has also been criticised for dragging its feet on “solution-based strategies.” They’re quick to flag problems but slow to propose fixes. Last week, a meeting between DMK leaders and I-PAC’s zonal heads reportedly spiralled into heated arguments, even leading to a blow-up.
One common complaint: The firm keeps stacking up accusations against the DMK, but never bothers to outline actual remedies.
The party is now quietly handing out some of I-PAC’s responsibilities to other firms. But with just 10 months to go before polling, even DMK insiders admit their message still isn’t connecting on the ground.
“Plastering Stalin’s face everywhere is nice,” one source said, “but unless you actually turn that into votes, why are we even paying these agencies?”
Meanwhile, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s organic social media reach, powered by enthusiastic fans, has become an irritant for the DMK. The TVK leadership is actively working on strategies to channel and organise this raw digital energy.
In the AIADMK camp, its IT wing is also strong — though whether it can match the DMK muscle remains a big question. Observers noted that the AIADMK’s online presence has sharpened lately.
For instance, during EPS’s campaign tour of Tiruchuzhi, a DMK functionary’s car drove into the rally and was vandalised. DMK sympathisers spread videos claiming the car was rushing a breathless child to the hospital. But AIADMK quickly countered with a clip showing the very same “sick child” happily behind the wheel — leaving the DMK thoroughly embarrassed.
As the election draws near, the ruling party is desperate to avoid such online embarrassments. But with holes in its strategy and squabbles within its PR army, DMK functionaries are increasingly restless. Their main demand now is immediate intervention by the leadership.
If these expensive PR outfits can’t even save the party from opposition memes, then really — what’s the point of having them, they wondered.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
