“I am sure to win Ulundurpet seat by defeating Vijayakanth, who has done nothing for the people in all these 11 years of existence of DMDK. I shall also be proving that ‘cinema mogam’ and cinema maayai (cinema craze and illusion) which exist in an otherwise politically enlightened Tamil Nadu will no more be relevant and no more sell”, says PMK candidate K. Balu.
In an interview to E.T.B. Sivapriyan, Balu says he is ready for an open debate with Vijayakanth on what should be done for the constituency. Excerpts from the interview:
Q You were announced as PMK candidate in Ulundurpet only after Vijayakanth decided to contest from there. Why did that happen? Why was the earlier candidate changed?
Generally, the media has the habit of exaggerating the political situation when leader of a political party contests from a constituency by underestimating other contenders. May be, my party, PMK, felt that a media-savvy person like me being the candidate would make the fight against Vijayakanth more exciting and tough. But it was a decision by the party and I bow to it. Ever since he entered politics, the DMDK leader has been targeting PMK by contesting from our citadel. It looks like Vijayakanth’s main goal is to defeat PMK in this region rather than his winning.
Q What is your strategy to win the seat?
My main campaign plank is “zero performance” of Vijayakanth as Vriddhachalam MLA between 2006 and 2011 and as leader of Opposition between 2011 and 2016. He never spoke about problems of his constituencies in Assembly. How can people of Ulundurpet expect him to work for them?
Q The DMDK chief has been changing his constituency every election. Why do you think he does this?
Like I told you earlier, his performance is zero and since he has nothing to show to the people, he keeps migrating from one seat to another. He is of the opinion that the star power would help him. But this time people of Ulundurpet will end the ‘cinema mogam and cinema maayai’ in Tamil Nadu.
Q Why do you think people would vote for you especially when your opponent is the leader of a political party?
If Vijayakanth was serious in working for the people, he should have stayed on in one seat.
The fact that he keeps changing clearly means he has nothing to show. I am a lawyer and I have been instrumental in closing 504 Tasmac liquor shops in the State. I had been to United Nations to speak against atrocities meted out to Tamils in Sri Lanka. I can do a lot if I become an MLA.
Q You are fighting against a political leader, a popular star and chief ministerial candidate of an alliance. What are your winning chances. How confident are you about your victory?
He called himself ‘Karuppu MGR’ but his star power vanished in the last elections. He is not cohesive. His star power will be gone once for all this elections.
