Called as Vellum Tamil Pengal (Winning Tamil Women), the DMK’s women conference held at Palladam near Coimbatore on December 29 was the second in a series of such conferences spanning six key districts across Tamil Nadu. The first conference, focused on the youth wing, was held in Thiruvannamalai district in North Tamil Nadu a few weeks ago. The mega outreach event—carefully choreographed and emotionally charged—is aimed at wooing the women voters.
With just 100 days left for the next assembly election, the battle to win over the state’s decisive vote bank has already begun. Women voters are key to Tamil Nadu’s electoral politics and have historically played a decisive role in shaping power. The state has consistently seen higher voter turnout among women in the past, and they have a strong influence on the vote bank in rural and semi-urban constituencies. This was a political space that was firmly consolidated by Jayalalithaa since the 1990s, who positioned herself as the protector of women’s safety.
However, after her passing in 2016, women voters shifted drastically away from the AIADMK, splitting their support between the DMK and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) in the 2019, 2021, and 2024 elections.
Women voters have emerged as a decisive political force in Tamil Nadu, outnumbering male voters—3.14 crore women vs 3.03 crore men as of 2024-2025—and showing higher turnout rates in recent elections.
All major political parties have consistently deployed extensive welfare schemes to strategically consolidate this silent vote bank.
This time, Tamil Nadu's new political entrant, Vijay, has become a magnetic force among the state's women and young voters. With a three-way contest likely, Vijay is expected to disrupt the prospects of both the AIADMK and the DMK, as a large segment of young women voters is turning towards him.
The DMK believes that its welfare schemes will help it win over women voters in the upcoming elections. The party has clearly strategised on the ground with a 'women-first' pitch. At the heart of its strategy are flagship welfare initiatives that provide tangible financial benefits to women, such as the monthly Rs. 1,000 cash dole, free bus rides for women—which reportedly help them save Rs. 888 per month—the morning breakfast scheme in schools, which eases the burden on working women, and the Naan Mudhalvan skill development program, aimed at improving the employability of college students, including young women.
Apart from the welfare schemes, the DMK is employing a multi-pronged strategy focused on financial empowerment, grassroots door-to-door outreach, and emphasising historical social reforms. The DMK has been working at the ground level to position itself as the “protector" of women's rights through the “Dravidian Model governance”, which was evident at the women's conference held at Palladam.