Mathur Sathya J, a Tamil Nadu-based activist affiliated with the Communist Party of India (CPI), was recenrly expelled by the party following serious allegations of sexual exploitation of several women. The same man was propped up as an intellectual by leftist rag The News Minute and Chief Minister Stalin’s son-in-law run PEN.

In a press release, the CPI said that they received numerous complaints regarding Mathur Sathya’s behavior and also stated that a complaint has been filed with the Greater Chennai Police against him by the party’s Chennai district secretary SK. Siva.

“The State Executive Committee meeting held on March 14, 2026, carefully examined the complaints and decided to immediately remove him from all positions he held in the party and its affiliated organizations AIYF and ISCUF. Furthermore, the Communist Party of India and its affiliated mass organizations AIYF and ISCUF have expelled Mathur Sathya from primary membership due to the gravity of the complaints received against him and the prima facie evidence that emerged during the inquiry. A complaint has also been filed with the Greater Chennai Police to take action in favour of the victim women.“, the press release stated.

In a social media post, Sathya justified his actions saying that he did it with “explicit consent”.

All I want to say at the moment! pic.twitter.com/kuiJrQUtbz

— Mathur Sathya J (@captmatsat) March 16, 2026

The development also carries a striking irony. Mathur Sathya, who had positioned himself online as a commentator quick to level allegations and amplify moral outrage against individuals and Hindu institutions he opposed, now finds himself facing serious accusations of sexual exploitation. The same activist who helped circulate sensational baseless claims about ‘minor girls bathing half-naked’ in Isha’s Chandrakund is now under scrutiny for his own alleged conduct, bringing an abrupt collapse to the carefully cultivated image of a self-styled moral crusader.

How TNM & PEN Propped Up Sathya As An Intellectual

The News Minute especially had done a hagiographical profile of him with the title “Meet Mathur Sathya, Salem youngster who quit IT job to work for social justice“.

They even did an exclusive podcast with him as if he was a well-reputed intellectual.

Mathur Sathya was also associated with rabid Dravidianist film director Pa. Ranjith’s Neelam Social, making videos for their YouTube channel.

PEN aka Populous Empowerment Network, reportedly helmed by Chief Minister Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan, even conducted a workshop with him.

The “PEN Research Forum” conducted a workshop on ‘Scientific temper in social science – What it means and why it seems a little scarce’ on 27 October 2025. Mathur Sathya was one of the speakers and was positioned as a ‘public policy professional’. The workshop aimed to help participants develop ‘logical, evidence-based thinking, identify meaningful research topics, and frame strong research questions’.

டேய்ய் என்னடா இது pic.twitter.com/ks8VFrfsJA

— Sonia Arunkumar (@rajakumaari) March 16, 2026

The News Minute elevated him as a “social justice” voice, while PEN platformed him as a “public policy professional” teaching scientific temper and ethical reasoning. Yet, behind this carefully curated image now stand serious allegations of sexual exploitation, acknowledged even by his own party’s expulsion. They built the pedestal. He just stood on it.

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The post From TNM To PEN, How Leftist Dravidian Stock Mathur Sathya Accused Of Sexually Exploiting Women Was Hyped Up As An Intellectual appeared first on The Commune.

Data from Google’s Ads Transparency Center and Meta’s Ad Library reveals a systematic, crore-scale operation running out of Chennai and mainstream media isn’t talking about it.

With Tamil Nadu Assembly elections widely expected to be announced in March 2026, a quietly incorporated Chennai company is spending crores of rupees on digital advertising at a scale that dwarfs every other political entity in India except the Central government and BJP, and its ownership trail leads straight to the Chief Minister’s family.

Populus Empowerment Network Private Limited (PEN), incorporated in November 2022, has emerged as India’s most aggressive state-level political digital advertiser, according to data drawn from Google’s Ads Transparency Center and Meta’s Ad Library. Its spending is verifiable; its ads are public and its links to the ruling DMK and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s son-in-law V. Sabareesan are documented.

Tamil Nadu: India’s Biggest State-Level Political Ad Spender

Start with the numbers at the state level. In a three-month window, Tamil Nadu spent ₹15.1 crore on Google ads – the highest of any state in India, according to Google’s political ad transparency data.

Tamil Nadu, a state with 6% of India’s population, is the spending state for political Google ads than Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with a population nearly three times its size. This is not a marginal gap. Tamil Nadu spends 53% more than UP, and nearly 65% more than Maharashtra.​

The reason becomes clear when you look at who is doing the spending.

Who Is PEN?

Populus Empowerment Network Private Limited is a Chennai-based political communications company incorporated in 2022. Its official directors are Manikandan Vasudevan and Prabhakaran Sekar, but V Sabareesan, son-in-law of Chief Minister MK Stalin, is said to exercise indirect control over the company.​

PEN functions as DMK’s in-house digital and social media agency. It runs the Facebook page “Ellorum Nammudan” (596,000 followers), the Instagram handle “dmk_ellorumnammudan” (113,000 followers), and multiple other DMK-linked digital properties. It was also responsible for developing the “Makkalin Mudhalvar” app and game promoting the DMK’s “Dravidian Model” branding.​

In 2024, then Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai publicly accused DMK of spending ₹7.39 crore in social media ads through PEN, calling it “crony capitalism” and alleging that the Chief Minister’s family was directly profiting from state-funded political propaganda. The allegations, backed by public Meta Ad Library and Google Transparency Center data, triggered an Election Commission complaint but no regulatory action followed.

The Scale Of Spending: Crores On Google, Crores On Meta

PEN’s cumulative ad spend, as captured from publicly available transparency data, is staggering for a company that files returns as a small private limited firm:

Google Ads (2024 alone): ₹9.25 crore, placing PEN as India’s second-largest non-government political Google advertiser, ahead of Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC and most national party state units.

Meta (Facebook + Instagram), Jan–Oct 2025: ₹4.1 crore across 1,054 ads, primarily through the Ellorum Nammudan pages.​

Google Ads, Jan–Oct 2025: ₹1.24 crore across 229 ads, with a sharp acceleration from July 2025 onwards.​

Combined estimate (Google + Meta, full 2025 cycle): Discussions in digital monitoring communities put the total at approximately ₹14–17 crore, with February 2026 showing a fresh surge tied to the election campaign period.​

To put this in perspective: CNBC TV18 reported that DMK’s total Google ad spend since 2018 is approximately ₹25 crore, placing it third nationally after the Central government’s advertising bureau and BJP.

The February 2026 Surge: Election Machine in Full Gear

As election season accelerates, so has PEN’s spending. Data from Google’s Ads Transparency Center for the February 2026 period shows a concentrated burst of ad expenditure.

Overall, they spend approximately ₹3.6 crore​s for the month of February 2026 (until 26 February 2026)

10–19 February 2026 (10 days): ₹3.41 crore on a single campaign reaching crores of viewers.

13–19 February 2026 (6 days): Ads worth about ₹2 crores were displayed

11–19 February 2026 (9 days): 144 ads were shown in this period with a spend of over ₹2.6 crores

The ads shown in the above time periods are as below:

When Senthil Balaji Factor Was Used For Crisis Management Through Ad Spend

One of the most revealing patterns in PEN’s spending data is its direct correlation with negative news cycles for the DMK government.

The sharpest spending acceleration occurred in July–October 2025, when Tamil Nadu faced three consecutive political crises: the sanitation workers’ protests over caste-based discrimination, the Karur stampede tragedy on 27 September 2025 (in which 41 people died at a TVK rally, triggering political fallout for DMK ally Senthil Balaji), and the subsequent SIT inquiry.

During this period, a disproportionate share of PEN’s ad budget went towards clips of Senthil Balaji’s press conferences, attempting to shape the narrative around a minister who had become a political liability. Between October 22–24, 2025 alone, PEN poured ₹1.25–1.5 lakh per day into a single campaign pushing Balaji-related content, reaching an estimated 2–2.25 million viewers in that window.

Ads were shown just about former DMK minister Senthil Balaji who has come to be identified as ₹10 Balaji because of the allegations of scam in TASMAC popularized by Vijay during the Karur Stampede Tragedy.

​The pattern confirms what critics have long alleged: PEN functions not just as a campaign ad agency but as a real-time crisis management operation funded through undisclosed channels and directed at protecting DMK’s political position between elections.

A Company Built for One Purpose

What makes PEN structurally unique, and concerning from an electoral transparency standpoint, is its exclusivity.

Unlike conventional digital agencies that serve multiple clients across sectors, PEN has no documented commercial clients outside DMK and its allied campaigns. Every trackable ad it has published promotes DMK content, attacks DMK’s political rivals (including TVK/Vijay), or promotes the “Dravidian Model” government narrative.​

This raises a fundamental question that no regulatory body has publicly answered: is PEN a private commercial company or is it an undisclosed arm of the ruling party’s political machinery? If the latter, its spending running into tens of crores should arguably be disclosed under election expenditure rules, not buried in the filings of a small Chennai private limited company linked to the Chief Minister’s family.

What The Mainstream Media Has Not Asked

The data underpinning this report is entirely public. Google publishes its political ad transparency data here. Meta’s Ad Library is accessible here. PEN’s company registration is available on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal. Its ads are visible to anyone who looks.

And yet, as of 27 February 2026, weeks before the Tamil Nadu elections are expected to be called, not one mainstream Tamil or English news outlet has published a comprehensive account of PEN’s ad spending, its ownership structure, or its policy violation rate on Google.

The Election Commission of India, which monitors campaign expenditure, has received at least one formal complaint about PEN’s operations (from Annamalai in 2024) but has not publicly acted on it. ​

With the election schedule expected to be announced in the first or second week of March 2026, the window for regulatory scrutiny is narrowing. Once the Model Code of Conduct kicks in, the question will no longer be whether PEN’s spending was transparent, but whether anyone with the authority to act was paying attention when it mattered.

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The post Inside DMK’s Digital War Room: How A Company Linked To Sabarisan Is Burning Cash To Build His Father-In-Law MK Stalin’s Image appeared first on The Commune.

In 2024, The Commune had reported that DMK spent over ₹10 crore in social media ads Via PEN (Populus Empowerment Network) indirectly owned by MK Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan.

Populus Empowerment Network Private Limited (PEN) is a Chennai‑based company incorporated in 2022. It is the in-house agency of DMK handling digital and social media campaigns. While official filings list its directors as Manikandan Vasudevan and Prabhakaran Sekar V. Sabareesan (son‑in‑law of CM M.K. Stalin) is said to exercise indirect control over the company.

PEN has managed multiple political and promotional campaigns, including on platforms like Google and Meta.

In April 2024, the then Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, contesting his first Lok Sabha election in 2024, intensified his attack on the ruling DMK and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s family during his campaign. Accusing the DMK of large-scale misuse of public funds, Annamalai claimed the party spent ₹7.39 crore on social media advertisements through a company called Populous Empowerment Network Pvt. Ltd., allegedly owned by Stalin’s son-in-law, V. Sabareesan, who holds a 99% share. He described this as an example of “crony capitalism,” saying the chief minister’s family was “looting state funds over and over again.”

Annamalai’s allegations refer to paid advertisements run on Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram) under pages such as Ellorum Nammudan and Stalinin Kural, both managed by Populous Empowerment Network (PEN). The campaigns, launched around March 2024, promoted DMK content, including videos, songs, and anti-Modi messages. According to publicly available Meta Ad Library data, these pages collectively spent over ₹1.2 crore on Meta ads, with some individual ads costing up to ₹2 lakh each.

Reports also indicated that PEN spent an additional ₹9.25 crore on Google Ads. The company was earlier associated with developing the “Makkalin Mudhalvar” app and game designed to promote the DMK’s “Dravidian Model of governance.” Annamalai accused the DMK of misusing state resources for political propaganda while claiming that Modi’s “guarantees” would end such nepotism, separatist rhetoric, and family rule in Tamil Nadu.

Cut to 2025, the ad spends are back in scrutiny. Let’s analyse the social media adverts and how much was spent for each of these ads.

Time Frame For Analysis: January 2025 – October 2025

Since January 2025, a total of ₹1.24 crores have been spent on 229 Google Ads.

Let’s deep dive into some of the recent spends.

The highest-spending days were concentrated in late October 2025 (Oct 22–25), with some days seeing spend up to ₹150,000 and dozens of ads launched, typically in bursts.

Between October 22nd and 24th, 2025, PEN poured ₹125K–₹150K into a single campaign, publishing rapidly pushing it out to an estimated 2–2.25 million viewers.

Ads were shown just about former DMK minister Senthil Balaji who has come to be identified as ₹10 Balaji because of the allegations of scam in TASMAC popularized by Vijay during the Karur Stampede Tragedy.

The average spend per ad by Populus Empowerment Network Private Limited during January 1, 2025 to October 25, 2025 is approximately ₹47,385 per ad.

As you can see, there has been a massive increase in the amount spent since July 2025 as the news cycle was majorly against the DMK government – from sanitation workers protest to Karur Stampede.

Out of the 80 visible ads reviewed, 24 were removed by Google for policy violations, resulting in an approximate removal rate of 30%.

The amount spent on these removed ads was around ₹34.35 lakhs.

The top spending ads ranged from ₹2.5-4.5 Lakhs each, with most high-budget campaigns running for extended periods (30-64 days). Notably, several of the highest-spending ads were removed, including:

• June-August campaign: ₹4.25 Lakhs
• June-July campaign: ₹3.25 Lakhs
• September campaign: ₹2.75 Lakhs

This is just in Google. Let’s take a look at how much money DMK has splurged in Meta (Facebook and Instagram).

Meta Spend Of DMK

PEN runs DMK propaganda pages called Ellorum Nammudan in Facebook (596K followers as on Oct 25, 2025) and dmk_ellorumnammudan in Instagram (113K followers as on Oct 25, 2025).

According to Meta’s Ad Library, ₹3,532,165 was spent from 25 July 2025 – 22 October 2025.

Most of its spending has gone towards ads in Instagram.

And like in Google, a lot of money has been splurged on bytes of Senthil Balaji’s press conference in light of Karur Stampede.

From January 2025 to October 2025, a total of 1054 ads have been been placed through Meta.

In total, PEN has spent ₹4.1 crore for ads through Meta.

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The post DMK’s Political Communications Firm PEN Spent Around ₹1.5 Crores On Digital Ads From Jan-Oct 2025 appeared first on The Commune.

Election fever is rising and Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party chief Annamalai, contesting for the first time in the Parliamentary elections has made massive strides in Tamil Nadu after he took over the helm of the party in the state. 

Amidst his poll campaign, Annamalai spoke to reporters and answering a question on Modi’s guarantees for the people of Tamil Nadu, Annamalai, targeting the ruling DMK said, “After the 2024 elections Modi guarantees that Gopalapuram’s corrupt family will be behind bars. We can guarantee that. Modi will guarantee that the 8.5 crore population in Tamil Nadu will be safeguarded from the evil power of the DMK. Modi guarantees will safeguard TN from TASMAC and TR Baalu’s liquor factories.”

He added, “Today, if you see the ads all over social media, the DMK has spent ₹7,39,93,750 crores for its social media advertisements. They have given this money to a company called Populous Empowerment Network Pvt Ltd and this company is owned by none other than Sabareesan (99% share), the son-in-law of Chief Minister MK Stalin. Modi will safeguard TN from such crony capitalism.”

“The company run by the son-in-law and daughter of the Chief Minister of the state is looting state funds over and over again, and Modi guarantees he will safeguard the state from them. What else will Modi guarantee – he will control those who speak separatism, he will eradicate dynastic rule (family rule), I can keep on telling you but do you have the time?”, he said.

Today's Press meet was just fantastic
Thalaivar Annamalai just destroyed the D-Stocks #ModiKaGuarantee pic.twitter.com/m4bzbZMX7B

— Vishwatma ( மோடியின் குடும்பம் ) (@HLKodo) April 11, 2024

What Are These Social Media Ads Annamalai Is Talking About?

The ads are for the Facebook/Instagram page titled “Ellorum Nammudan“. The ad campaign was launched around the end of March 2024 and continues to the present day in April 2024 and over 2000 ad details can be found under this page for this month alone.

The ads promote almost all the posts made on the page on Facebook & Instagram. These posts include static creatives and videos on both platforms. The video link leads to the below on YouTube.

Ads about the number of views the song video got targeting 1 million people cost about ₹45000 – ₹50000. The above song was heavily promoted at the beginning of the month for a few lakh rupees. Details below:

The other posts cost between ₹100 to a few thousand rupees. A few of the video ads are paid for by the page while most of them are paid for by Populous Empowerment Network.

Another video that was heavily promoted was an anti-Modi video – the cost for this ad runs to about ₹2,00,000 each time.

More details about the adverts can be obtained here.

Apart from Ellorum Nammudan, there is also a page called ‘Stalinin Kural‘ owned by PEN again which has spent ₹5,035,742 on Meta Ads.

According to reports, Populus Empowerment Network Pvt Ltd, has also spent ₹9.25 crore on Google Ads.

It is noteworthy that the company that Annamalai mentioned was also involved in creating apps/games for smartphone users (Makkalin Mudhalvar App) that would “educate” the people on the “Dravidian model of governance”. The Commune did a study on the app/game, you can read about it here. 

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The post DMK Spends Over ₹10 Cr In Social Media Ads Via PEN Owned By MK Stalin’s Son-In-Law Sabareesan appeared first on The Commune.

A new gaming app that is centred around “Dravidian principles” made its debut at the Chennai Comic Con, just in time for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Developed by Populus Empowerment Network (PEN) connected to MK Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan, the app, titled ‘Makkalin Mudhalvar’ (People’s Chief Minister), invites players to assume the role of a chief minister and navigate the complexities of governance. The game is targeted at youth aged between 16 and 25 and “aims to familiarise” users with the principles underlying the “Dravidian model of governance”.

Makkalin Mudhalvar rewards players for decisions aligning with Dravidian principles, emphasising values such as equality, empowerment, and secularism. Pooja Pradeep, a programme manager at PEN, speaking to India Today explained the game’s mechanics, stating that there were no wrong answers, however when one plays the game, it is evident that points are deducted for making logical choices while the player is rewarded when one makes a choice aligning with the Dravidian ideology.

DMK ideology enters gaming sphere with launch of its gaming app ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Program manager Pooja Pradeep says the game named 'Makkalin Mudhalvar' is designed to educate younger minds about Dravidian principles. Listen in. #ReporterDiary | (@PramodMadhav6) pic.twitter.com/Jh0c4ey1n9

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 18, 2024

As the virtual chief minister, players are tasked with upholding the core values of Dravidian ideology, reflecting historical Dravidian party stances. Pooja Pradeep told India Today that the “visionary approach” of Sabareesan Vedamurthy, the founder of Populus Empowerment Network (PEN), was reflected in the game.

We downloaded the app and tried working our way around it. Here are some screenshots in the introductory part – clearly peddling a divisive agenda, establishing the basis for ‘us and them’ narrative.

And thus the Dravidian model, the Dravidian way is introduced to the user. In what can be seen as a very good use of imagery to push the Dravidian ideology, one is reminded of how Dravidianists used art and imagery to peddle Nazi-style propaganda against the Brahmins.

Read further this article to understand how Dravidianists have for long used imagery to peddle their propaganda.

In all their artwork and imagery, the Dravidianists made use of what is known as the Picture Superiority Effect – a phenomenon in which imagery/pictures are remembered more than text or words. The same applies to this game as well. Use of AI to the best of their abilities to peddle the Dravidian propaganda.

Coming back to the game, the user plays the role of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and as soon as the CM takes up the position, a lady (probably State Secretary?) briefs the CM about the “current condition of the state”.

So once the introduction is done with, the player takes over as CM and the Dravidian principles of “Social Justice, Rationalism, Women’s Empowerment, Cultural Ethos, and Federalism” are briefed to the player.

You can see for yourself the type of content that is showcased here – unscientific religious beliefs, superstitions are irrational, calling the central government the Union and calling for autonomy – drilling into the brains of the user, the same language that the Dravidian government uses.

The instructions are given to the player and it suggests that if one follows Dravidian values, election can be won easily.

Following these screens, the task is given by different ministries say Education minister or the Health minister or a business leader who visits the CM for some thing or the other. As the player goes over these tasks, points are added or deducted based on the Dravidian principles each selection comes under.

Among these tasks was a task on a brand named “Bimool” which seems to be a wordplay on brand Amul – which was in the news recently as the DMK government opposed its entry into Tamil Nadu. So the Health Minister comes with a complaint or a problem that Bimool is setting up a factory in the state and this can be a problem for the people.

So, rationally thinking, if one clicks the first option to promote a competitive economy and allow the trade, the results are as below:

When one makes logical decisions, points start reducing as above – in the social justice and health fronts.

Here’s another example: The game also tries to pass off the freebie system (free bus travel for women in Tamil Nadu) as a positive principle – Women’s empowerment. Here are the screenshots. You can see at the top how the points reduce if you reject the idea of free bus travel for women scheme.

However, in reality it is evident that the free-bus scheme has not just led to pushing the exchequer in deep debt but has also led to women being mistreated.

As one progresses in the game, the CM is met with different ministers. For example, the Youth Minister comes up to the CM to ask how he can help youth reach their potential as the youth are tomorrow’s decision makers. The options you are given are: Host a Youth Wing Conference to raise awareness or Build their social skills by hosting a big charity event. It is to be noted that MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin, infamous for his remarks against Hinduism, is the Youth Minister and also the DMK Youth Wing Secretary.

Some of the choices are confusing but they are all aimed at achieving only that – confusion and to propagate the so-called Dravidian ideology. Targeting youth in the 16-25 age group can prove to be detrimental if they are exposed to such falsities are an impressionable age and at a time when they are probably going to vote for the first time.

Overall, this app seems to be a waste of time and energy and whose sole aim is to peddle Dravidianist propaganda among unsuspecting first-time voters who they presume to attract through gamification.

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The post Makkalin Mudhalvar App: Stalin’s Son-In-Law Sabareesan’s Company Rolls Out New App, Subtly Peddles Dravidian Propaganda Against Amul While Also Trying To Indoctrinate Dravidian “Principles” In Youth appeared first on The Commune.