Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 5 (ANI): Preparations are in full swing for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)'s State Conference, scheduled to be held in Tiruchirappalli on March 9.

According to party sources, around 10 lakh cadres are expected to participate in the 12th State Conference. The event comes ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with key announcements likely to be made regarding the party's electoral promises.

With just a few days remaining for the grand event, party leaders and organisers are intensifying arrangements at Siruganur along the Trichy-Chennai National Highway.

As part of the opening ceremony, a 100-foot-tall flagpole is being erected for the hoisting of the DMK party flag.

DMK is looking forward to retaining power in the state, while pitching 'Dravidian Model 2.0' and posing Dravidian ideology as a plank against the BJP-AIADMK alliance.

Meanwhile, preparations are also underway for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 11 in Trichy.

The meeting is scheduled to be held on a 22-acre site near Edamalaipatti Pudur.

The venue is located near the Tiruchi-Madurai National Highway and is approximately 5 kilometres from the Trichy International Airport.

BJP Tamil Nadu State President Nainar Nagendran told reporters, 'NDA public meeting in Tiruchirappalli would be conducted on the scale of a major conference, with participation expected to exceed five lakh people.'

In recent developments in the run-up to the elections, on Wednesday, DMK and Congress finalized their seat-sharing formula after the second round of talks. Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai expressed joy after securing 28 assembly seats along with one seat in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from the DMK.

'This is a very happy moment for us. We have received 28 seats from the DMK, and I sincerely thank all our national and state leaders who made this possible. The alliance would strongly oppose divisive and fascist forces,' he said.

The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the incumbent MK Stalin-led Secular Progressive Alliance will look to win against the BJP-AIADMK-led NDA. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest.

In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively.

While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats. (ANI)