'Ready to accept any role I may have played in contributing to poll outcome,' says M K Stalin's son in law, Sabarisan

Chennai: Sabarisan Vedamurthy, DMK president M K Stalin's son-in-law, in his capacity as the founder of PEN, a socio-political research organisation, on Monday said he was willing to accept any role he may have played in contributing to the electoral outcome.

Vedamurthy, in a statement, said: "I accept the people's verdict simply and humbly. While I wish to extol Team PEN's hard work and sincerity, I am fully willing to accept any role I may have played in contributing to the electoral outcome. I will continue to work hard with responsibility, humility, and a stronger understanding of the public's expectations, moving forward." He said: "Over the past few days, I have noticed several attempts to place significant responsibility for the recent electoral outcome on PEN and its functioning. While criticism and public scrutiny are natural in a democracy and are indeed welcome, over simplifying a large political outcome into one narrative is not useful, because it simply does not reflect reality." Furthermore, Vedamurthy said DMK chief Stalin had demonstrated what it meant to face the people's verdict with grace and courage.

The Populus Empowerment Network (PEN) said it respects the people's verdict with humility.

"However, we humbly request all stakeholders to avoid misinformation, personal targeting, and unverified narratives that distract from healthy democratic discussion," the research organisation requested.

Vedamurthy is the founder of PEN, which conducts studies involving politics and public opinion for better decision-making and informed policy-making.

The statement follows speculation and accusations targeting PEN after the results to the TN Assembly polls were out on May 4.

In the 234-member Assembly, the TVK won 108 seats and the DMK managed to win only 59 seats.