Tamil Nadu Assembly elections: Mood upbeat among cadres in R K Nagar

Chennai: A day after Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa announced the party’s candidates’ list for the Assembly elections, AIADMK workers in north Chennai were seen hyper active in R. K. Nagar on Tuesday, where AIADMK supremo, J.Jayalalithaa, is contesting to retain the labour-dominated constituency.

Zonal secretaries, councillors and ward secretaries are now gearing up for the inaugural campaign show to be kick-started by Jayalalithaa on Saturday at Island grounds. Booth committees, ward level election offices and residences of district secretaries in north Chennai saw party cadres and functionaries coming to discuss poll strategies. In fact, the situation is such that the party functionaries have made attendance compulsory for all micro-level seyalveerar kuttams (workers meetings) presided by district office-bearers. “The absentees list will be sent to garden (Poes Garden).

Whether you hold a party post or not, attendance is compulsory”, a district secretary was seen warning a ward secretary for arriving late for the meeting. Similar is the situation in south Chennai, where party seniors were seen comforting a few sulking sitting MLAs who were denied party seats.

“We are thrilled and R. K. Nagar will record the maximum margin again in this elections. Even the opposition DMK knows they will lose, but our party strategy is to ensure that all rival candidates forfeit deposits,” said J. K. Ramesh, ward 37 councillor. Meanwhile, the party workers have started printing pamphlets and booklets containing the improvements to civic infrastructure in the constituency in the last six months at a cost of Rs 190 crores.

“Our party avoided R K Nagar by-poll as we knew that it would be rigged by the ruling party, but this time DMK will field a candidate and fight Jayalalithaa. Wait and see. Anti-incumbency is always a sleeping giant in Tamil Nadu that wakes up on the date of polling. It is not going to be a cake walk for Jaya in R. K. Nagar”, said a DMK councillor in north Chennai.   

“My husband votes only for DMK, but I vote only for Amma and now with Jayalalithaa again contesting in R K Nagar, a majority of women will vote only for her,”  said home maker A Pushapakala of Tondiarpet. In fact, the local woman councillor had already started door-to-door canvassing.