Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) | The AIADMK will provide silk sarees under its marriage assistance scheme to newlywed couples if voted to power in the 2026 Assembly election, party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Tuesday.

Interacting with silk weavers, he said the party would also introduce schemes to improve their livelihood.

"We will do whatever we can to support silk handloom weavers in the state. Steps will be taken to provide silk sarees to newlywed brides, along with gold for the thaali (mangalsutra), under the marriage assistance scheme launched by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa," he said.

Earlier, responding to Chief Minister M K Stalin’s remark that the "BJP would swallow the AIADMK", the leader of the opposition said, "Stalin says the BJP will swallow Palaniswami. Is Palaniswami a worm to be swallowed by a fish? You are the one swallowing your allies."

During a roadshow in Thanjavur, he claimed that the Congress’s presence in the state was diminishing, the Communists were disappearing, and another ally, the VCK, was clinging to the DMK.