Chennai: Former chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday urged party members to regain the confidence of young people and women and continue working for the public even while in opposition. “We are specialists in making a comeback. We will make a strong comeback,” Stalin said while addressing the party’s executive committee meeting in Chennai.He criticised party functionaries for failing to nurture cadres and emerging leaders, warning that the DMK would not grow in the districts unless young functionaries were encouraged and guided. “Some functionaries have a face that blossoms when they see those from the opposition, but not when they see our own party cadres. If you think nobody should grow to your level, only you will remain in that district,” Stalin said.He added that a district could not be strengthened by relying solely on one district secretary, just as an Assembly constituency could not be won merely because its MLA was strong. “When young people join the ranks, seniors welcoming and guiding them is the sign of a strong organisation,” he said.Stalin said the functioning of party functionaries was among the reasons for the electoral defeat and stressed that the DMK must openly acknowledge its mistakes instead of attributing the setback to external factors. “We must first accept our mistakes. We must accept them openly. Whatever the mistake of an individual, it is the 75-year-old party that gets affected,” he said.DMK will soon launch a fresh membership drive, followed by intra-party elections at all levels, Stalin said. He warned that some of the proposed changes would be “stringent” and “bitter” for some functionaries but insisted that they were necessary to keep the party vibrant for the next 100 years. “Only by restructuring the party can we regain political victory,” he said.
