The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) executive committee on Saturday, 22 August approved a comprehensive organisational overhaul, raising the number of party districts from 77 to 110 and imposing age and tenure limits on office-bearers across all levels. The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by party president M.K. Stalin at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai.

Key Structural Changes

The restructuring was recommended by a committee constituted to revitalise the party organisation as the DMK moves toward its centenary. The changes will be rolled out as part of the party's 16th organisational elections.

The most significant decision is the expansion of district units from 77 to 110. Revenue districts will generally be reorganised so that each party district covers two Assembly constituencies. Where only one constituency remains after reorganisation, it will be attached to another suitable party district within the same revenue district as a third constituency.

Age and Tenure Limits by Level

The new rules introduce structured caps across the party hierarchy. Branch secretaries must be aged 45 or below and can serve a maximum of two terms. Ward secretaries must not be older than 50 and are similarly limited to two terms. For panchayat, area, town, and union secretaries, the maximum age is fixed at 60, with a two-term ceiling. District secretaries must be below 70 and may serve up to three terms.

Urban Restructuring and Voter Benchmarks

A new branch-level structure and the post of branch secretary will be created in urban areas, initially introduced in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, and Salem, with potential extension to other corporations later.

Ward-level units in Chennai will be organised around an average of 10,000 voters, while those in other cities will cover approximately 5,000 voters. Area units in Chennai should cover about 40,000 voters, against roughly 30,000 in other cities. Town units will be created for every 40,000 voters and union units for every 30,000 voters.

Panchayat and Union Reorganisation

The party also resolved to reorganise union units on the basis of panchayat unions. No panchayat will be split across two different party unions, and every union must fall entirely within a single Assembly constituency — a move aimed at tightening the link between party geography and electoral geography.

Implementation Timeline

Stalin has been authorised to determine and announce the constituencies falling within each of the 110 new district units. Once the new districts are declared, district executive committees must convene and constitute union, city, area, town, ward, and branch units within 15 days. The resulting lists must be approved in the presence of a headquarters representative and forwarded to the party leadership for final clearance. The executive committee urged all functionaries to ensure prompt implementation of the resolutions.

The restructuring marks the DMK's most systematic internal reorganisation in recent years, signalling the party's intent to sharpen its grassroots machinery ahead of future electoral cycles.