Tag: AIADMK

Dharmapuri: Will AIADMK be a drag on PMK?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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On a moonlit, refreshingly cool evening, a group of men sit around and discuss politics under the shed of a Vinayagar temple at Muthanoor village, about 30 kilometres from Dharmapuri town.

Children idle alongside, school done with, attempting to understand the conversation initially, then wandering away bored.

“I am a ‘mambazham’ (mango) man,” announces 31 year old M Sakthivel, who says he is in the marketing business but is loath to reveal his firm’s name. “I work actively for the PMK.” Mango is the election symbol of the Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK.

The PMK founded by Dr S Ramadoss, a medical doctor by profession, referred to as ‘Marutthuvar Ayya’ (Doctor Sir), is hoping to keep the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha seat this year too. In 2014, Ramadoss’ son Anbumani Ramadoss, became a Member of Parliament from Dharmapuri with a rich margin of over 77,000 votes.

Sakthivel sighs and settles down to tell a story. “See this man?” he says, gesticulating at an older man wearing the veshti (dhoti) with the ruling party’s AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) colours. “We call him ‘Advocate’ because he is always arguing. Now Advocate and I – we have a history,” he says.

The history is quite recent – September and October 2018 to be precise. During this period, the AIADMK’s key leader in Dharmapuri, KP Anbazhagan, the minister for higher education, took on the member of Parliament Anbumani Ramadoss in a slanging match.

On 23 September 2018, KP Anbazhagan, speaking to the media, criticised Anbumani Ramadoss’ signature campaign initiative against the ruling party. The signature campaign was to demand an industrial hub or SIPCOT in the district, which, according to junior Ramadoss was a promise reneged upon by the AIADMK.

“The MP of this district is well aware that this government will complete whatever scheme and announcement it has made,” said KP Anbazhagan at a press meet. “By starting a signature campaign against us, he is fooling the people. Now that the elections are nearing, he is once again getting signatures from people regarding the scheme to fool the people.”

Three days later, the MP lashed back.

“A representative of the people who has been MLA four times, who belongs to this district, who has been minister twice, in fact he is a minister even now – if he really is a man, he should have brought SIPCOT here,” said Anbumani Ramadoss in a rebuttal to the press. “We do not consider him a minister because he does not have even a small qualification for that. He has lived as a slave throughout his life. He has got a ministerial berth as a reward for his slavish mentality.”

About a week later, the minister responded to this.

“In the village where he (Anbumani) was born and bred, not even one person has been a ward member in the village panchayat there,” said Anbazhagan on 01 October 2018. “These people have come to Dharmapuri and are trying to win over the people here. They have come here to waste time. If these people are able to bark so loudly, how much will people like us – who were born, brought up and live here, be able to do? Let them not threaten us. We are ‘panankaattu nari’ (fox in the palm forest). We are here due to the way shown by our Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (Revolutionary Leader Jayalalithaa). We are not going to become afraid of the circus being run here by Ramadoss.”

This bitter exchange went viral on social media. Having played the videos for context, Sakthivel continued. “When this happened, Advocate and I came to blows. We beat each other up, saying how can your leader abuse mine. We left each other with bruises and bleeding wounds,” he chuckled.

“But after Februrary 19 this year, Advocate called me and said – Come thambi (younger brother), now we are friends. We have to work together. No choice now,” recollected Sakthivel. “He put his arm around my shoulder and both of us had nothing to say. What do we do now? We fought once over our party leanings and now we are forced to work together because our leaders have tied up an alliance. Who do we vote for?” he asked.

The PMK was at loggerheads with the ruling AIADMK since 2011, calling them corrupt, anti-people and many other unsavoury jibes. They had submitted a list of alleged corrupt deals by the state government to the Governor last year and PMK leader Ramadoss also released a book on corruption by the ruling party. Come February and the abrupt u-turn taken by the party leadership has left the grassroots worker stumped.

The 60 year old ‘Advocate’, whose real name is A Govindasamy, is a landless agricultural labourer, with 41 goats to call his own. Of these, the state government provided four goats as part of the scheme introduced by late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2011.

“I am an AIADMK man, no doubt,” said Govindasamy. “But look at the state of affairs here in Muthanoor. There is no water. Last year there has been no farming because the rains failed. We are forced to go for construction work in Bengaluru, Salem, Chennai and other areas because we have no other income. About half the families in our village own around half to one acre of land. Now everyone has become construction workers because there is nothing here to cultivate,” he said.

Dharmapuri has always been parched, scorched earth, ‘vaanam paartha bhoomi’ (ground that looks to the sky) where little grows, except in good monsoon years. Across the district, struggling farmers have barely cultivated in the past season – the rains have deserted them. Men and women alike queue up to catch buses to take them to Bengaluru, Salem, Chennai and Vellore, to work as construction labourers, carrying bricks and toiling in the heat and dust of big cities.

Ask anyone in Dharmapuri what their issue is and they will say water. Despite the Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Scheme, most villages do not get supply from the Cauvery. If they do, it is twice a week and limited. Water apart, local issues too abound.

“For the past 15 years, we have been protesting, demanding space for a burial ground,” continued Govindasamy. “Neither DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), nor AIADMK has fulfilled our request. Our lives have only worsened. Now what is the use of voting or of batting for a particular party?” he asked.

Sakthivel points to a school close to the main road. “My son and all other children from the village study there. We built this school ourselves, by pooling in money,” he said. When the tar road arrived some years ago to Muthanoor, the school was bifurcated into two – one half of the school went to one side of the road and the other half was across the new tar road. Residents petitioned the district administration to build a new school compound but to no avail. Finally villagers themselves pooled in the money and built the school, a victory they cherish.

“But now with the proposed 8-lane expressway, this school will be demolished. My leader Anbumani came and stood with us to protest against the expressway project. But now he has gone and joined hands with the party which proposed the project. Tell me, what should I do? Who should I support?” asked the PMK man.

The Leaders Speak

While the ground reality may be one of reluctance to work with one another, the AIADMK realises that it is a do or die situation for them.

Especially in Dharmapuri where not just a Parliamentary seat but also two Assembly bypolls are scheduled for 18 April. Tamil Nadu’s 39 MP seats and 18 MLA seats go to polls and the AIADMK needs to win at least 7 out of the 18 MLA seats in order to save its government.

Which is perhaps why minister KP Anbazhagan is eager to please the foe turned friend. In an effort to ensure that the PMK stays on the AIADMK’s side, Anbazhagan, according to his aides, is toiling day and night, skipping meals to ensure a win in both Assembly seats as well as to make the incumbent Anbumani Ramadoss, the MP again.

“Arasiyal-la idhellam sagajam-nga,” he smiled, when questioned about his bitter exchange with Anbumani Ramadoss in September-October 2018. All this is par for the course in politics. “They raise questions and we respond, that is all there is to it.”

Anbazhagan said that he had gone to great pains to ensure that the Chief Minister’s campaign for Anbumani had nine ‘points’ – something which no other Chief Minister had done for an alliance candidate. By ‘points’, Anbazhagan is referring to places during the campaign where the CM spoke in support of junior Ramadoss.

“In 1998, 2001 and 2009, the AIADMK and PMK have been in alliance. We in Dharmapuri are not a treacherous people and we do not indulge in treacherous politics. We are working very hard to ensure that the PMK candidate wins the MP seat here.”

The minister also denies that the ruling party is more focussed on the bypolls to Harur and Pappireddipatti constituencies which fall within Dharmapuri district. “We have one eye on bypolls and one eye on the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Anbumani Ramadoss’ campaign manager Dr R Senthil, a urologist and Dharmapuri MP in 2009-2014 for the PMK, says that the alliance will only strengthen the PMK.

“During the 2016 Assembly election we lost only by small margins,” said Senthil. “With the AIADMK now in the alliance, we hope to make up those margins,” he said.

Anbumani Ramadoss had also contested the Pennagaram Assembly seat located in Dharmapuri district in 2016 and lost by a margin of close to 19,000 votes to the DMK candidate.

“You see the AIADMK also has a compulsion to win the bypolls here. So they will do it. It is not going to be problem,” he added.

As for the dent caused by the double standards displayed by the PMK in allying with the AIADMK after a barrage of criticism, especially on corruption, Dr Senthil feels that it will not impact the party’s chances negatively.

“See each party has its own agenda. The Left was initially against the Congress, now what has happened – they are in an alliance. We criticise governments but we go back and stay with the people. That is why we are a party with a difference,” he said.

And what of the DMK in Dharmapuri? A freshly minted politician as a candidate, although he is a local businessman and a very successful one at that, ‘DNV’ Senthil Kumar is attempting to peg himself as a “local” candidate versus the “outsider” Anbumani Ramadoss.

But factional rifts within the DMK – with Tiruvannamalai strongman EV Velu controlling the party cadre in Dharmapuri, while Senthil Kumar refuses to be under Velu’s shadow – might hamper the chances of the party.

As the local Muthanoor worker of the DMK sums it up – “I cannot in good faith say that the DMK will win. DMK has only around 10% support in this area. Our candidate is okay but people will prefer Anbumani more,” said K Kumar, 46.

G Chinnakannu, 60, who listened quietly to the entire conversation, had only one thing to add. “The AIADMK is putting in a lot of hard work. They have already visited us twice and have given us Rs 200 per head. More money will come. People here are poor, they only want money. And we will vote for those who give us money,” he said.

(This article was originally published in The Lede)

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Salem: Near CM’s hometown, anger simmers against AIADMK

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Villages affected by the controversial proposed 8-lane expressway are furious at the ruling party but say the main opposition has not done much either

A stone’s throw away from the palatial home of late DMK strongman Veerapandi Arumugam, the villages of Poolavari, Parapatti and Sitthaneri are nestled in the midst of tall coconut trees laden with elaneer (tender coconut), paddy and vegetables.

This lush green area was once what in Tamil is called the DMK’s kottai (fortress). The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK is the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu and is led by MK Stalin, son of former Chief Minister, the late M Karunanidhi.

“In Salem town everyone is crying for water,” said K Annakili, 58, a farmer. “But here, water just flows. It is God’s gift to us, to this land,” she added.

“They want to destroy all this to build a road,” she said contemptuously.

Annakili is referring to the Chennai-Salem 8-lane expressway project proposed by the Tamil Nadu government under the Centre’s Bharatmala scheme. The Rs 10,000 crore project aims to cut across five districts – Salem, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai and Kancheepuram. This 277.3 kilometre long expressway is, according to the government, to ease traffic between Chennai and Salem and reduce travel time by half to three hours.

In Salem, the expressway is conceived to be for a length of 36.3 kilometres. As the state government began the process of land acquisition, protests erupted and spread across five districts as farmers, who would lose their land, went up in arms.

Villagers of Sitthaneri, Poolavari and Parapatti were no exception.

Dharmapuri MP and leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) Anbumani Ramadoss headed to the Madras High Court with a batch of signatures of angry farmers and filed a Public Interest Litigation against the project. The court, in August 2018 stayed land acquisition.

But while the protests may have died down, and the issue itself is out of the headlines in Tamil Nadu, farmers continue to seethe.

Annakili says that out of the three acres of land she owns, close to two acres will be taken over by the state for the road project.

“We have 300 coconut trees on our land which we have nurtured over years and now we are finally seeing the benefits,” she lamented. Each tree, annually, provides them with a remuneration of Rs 2,000. Her coconut grove brings her small family a sum of Rs 6 lakhs per year. This is, of course, a conservative estimate.

“They (state government) are saying they will give Rs 19,000 or Rs 25,000 compensation per tree to be felled for the project,” said Annakili. “But even if they give us a lakh per tree, does it compensate for all these years of hard work in tending to them and growing them?”

S Kanagarathinam, 60, is hoping to enjoy her retired life in peace. But now the anxiety is palpable in her face as she talks about the project. With four acres of land, of which one acre is to be acquired for the project, Kanagarathinam says she is afraid.

“My daughter is working in Hosur and my son is working in Chennai, so it is just my husband and myself here,” she said. “What new profession can we begin at this age? What new home can we build now?” she said.

While many in the village, like Kanagarathinam are unsure as to who to vote for, others say they will not vote at all.

“I am not going to vote,” said R Sangeetha, 40, firmly. She is bitter. Her new home as well as the home of her in-laws will be eaten up by the road project if it is allowed to continue. “Not only are they taking our lands, what is worse, is that when we protested, the police arrested my husband at 3.30 am and treated him very badly,” she said.

Others like G Kala, 45, and S Selvi, 54, say that they will vote for whichever party promises that the first signature after coming to power, will be one to stop the 8-lane expressway project permanently.

“If Stalin can come and tell us, make a promise, that the first signature after coming to power will be to stop the road project, we will all vote for him,” said Kala.

But Stalin and the DMK have already opposed the 8-lane project in their manifesto and he has also spoken about it, hasn’t he?

“No that will not do,” said Kala firmly, insistent. “Parties say all kinds of things and then forget their promises after elections. We want this specific announcement, otherwise we will not vote at all,” she said.

Kala adds that although these villages traditionally voted for the DMK, the party had not bothered to lend their voice to the protests of the farmers and had only indulged in tokenism.

“They did not come to support us, they did not take the lead and help us,” said Kala. “We have voted for them for all these years but they just came for namesake a few times and did not bother with our problems,” she said.

AIADMK Vs DMK Vs PMK

Salem is the home constituency of Edappadi K Palaniswamy, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. 30 kilometres from the villages of angry farmers is the home of EPS, as he is better known – the village of Edappadi – and there, a large bungalow surrounded by acres of arecanut trees and fertile farmlands.

But so close to home, EPS is not a popular man. “Edappadi should be ashamed to call himself the son of a farmer,” said S Selvi of Poolavari. “He is destroying the livelihood of farmers. We are ashamed to call him a farmer.”

Selvi adds that all of the affected farmers in the village belong to the Gounder caste. “Is he a Gounder? He cannot call himself that. He has done droham to Gounders,” she said. Gounder is a dominant OBC (Other Backward Class) caste in that area.

Annakili says that the farmers here had all been very happy with Anbumani Ramadoss when he arrived at the peak of the protests and personally took down the names and survey numbers of the affected farmers in order to file the PIL against the road project.

“We had a lot of hope and faith in him,” she said. “But now how can we trust him? He has betrayed us by allying with the AIADMK.”

Meanwhile, R Mohanasundaram, a leader of the protests in Poolavari village and a wealthy farmer with a house worth Rs 1 crore, says he will only vote for the DMK. “Only the DMK can stop the project,” he said.

An Activist And His Disillusionment

In Dasanaickenpatti, engineer and social activist V Surendran sits in his office, styled in the manner of a village of yore. The 30-year-old is tired. Many months of travel, of rallying farmers and villages together to protest against the expressway project have taken its toll.

Now he waits for further developments, disillusioned and weary.

“I was drawn to the PMK and especially to Anbumani Ramadoss because he gave us support in the protests and filed a court case on our behalf,” said Surendran. “He too heard about my work, invited me to his home and made me sit at his dining table and have lunch.”

Come February 2019 and Surendran, who had begun to admire Anbumani Ramadoss, was shattered. “Ideologically, the alliance between the PMK and the AIADMK is a very bad move,” he said. “After I heard about the alliance in the news, I wrote Anbumani a 6-page letter and walked away from the party. I like both Dr Ramadoss and Anbumani but when you do not keep the opinion of the people in mind and do good by them, it is not correct,” he said.

He dismisses the AIADMK altogether as a party that has “failed the people and is only interested in the destruction of the state.”

As for the DMK, Surendran feels they cannot be trusted as they are “inconsistent.” “Stalin is like Rahul Gandhi,” he said, explaining his view. “Both are inconsistent. DMK did not get involved at all locally when the protests began. After that their presence was just eyewash. They did not do much,” he said.

(This article was originally published in The Lede)

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With development versus Sterlite, the BJP and DMK face off in Tuticorin

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As far as poll battles in Tamil Nadu go, it doesn’t get more interesting than Tuticorin. The DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is taking on the BJP’s Tamil Nadu president, Tamilisai Soundararajan, in what promises to be one of the more keenly contested election battles in the state, in recent times.

Calling the face-off between these political heavyweights, a political potboiler, is an understatement. Initial estimates say that Kanimozhi enjoys the upper hand. After all, it was only less than a year ago that the anti-Sterlite protests in Tuticorin began what is today perceived to be heavy anti-incumbency against the ruling AIADMK.

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Yet, against all odds, the party’s alliance partner, the BJP, has decided to field Soundararajan as its candidate from the constituency — a decision that flummoxed poll pundits.

“It is not only Sterlite that’s an issue in this constituency,” said Soundararajan, rejecting the suggestion that she might be an underdog in the faceoff, “This constituency (Tuticorin) was once an industrial hub that vanished, afterward.”

“I want to develop it. I liked contesting from here and I volunteered for it,” She added.

A dissection of Soundararajan’s candidacy could throw some light on why the BJP is fielding its state president in Tuticorin. She is, after all, a native of Sathankulam — a tiny town close to Tuticorin district. That makes her a local. But the electorate isn’t buying into the Tamil Nadu BJP’s claims that Soundararajan is a Tuticorin native who understands the pulse of the people. A desire for change is the recurring theme.

“We will vote for the party that assures us a permanent closure of the Sterlite plant,” said one voter. “The DMK began its groundwork three months ago, the BJP hasn’t even begun after its candidate filed her nomination,” said another, emphasising why support for Soundararajan may not be a given.

On the other side of town, the DMK’s Kanimozhi is ticking one rally after another off her campaign trail. “If she (Soundararajan) wants to close her eyes and that Sterlite is a non-issue, she’s completely mistaken,” she said, reacting to the BJP’s claims that development, and not Sterlite Copper, will be its major election plank. “There’s so much anger against Sterlite, the Tamil Nadu government and the BJP,” she added.

The one big factor that will aid Kanimozhi’s campaign is that the historical advantage as far as Tuticorin is concerned, lies with the DMK. The Dravidian party has a significant presence in adjoining districts like Tiruchendur. And although Kanimozhi may be contesting her first election, the mood on the ground suggests that a DMK victory is a foregone conclusion.

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Not just ‘two leaves’ or ‘rising sun’, TN poll arena has more this Lok Sabha election

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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From massive props on campaign vehicles to promotion through social media — the importance of election symbols cannot be overemphasised in this Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu especially with several new parties in the fray.

All political parties are intensely canvassing for the April 18 polls. Unlike the established parties like the AIADMK (two leaves symbol), DMK (Rising Sun) and the Congress (hand symbol), the newbies like Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by TTV Dhinakaran and actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) have to work hard to familiarise voters with their candidates and party symbols.

TTV Dhinakaran, who floated the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMM) in 2017 after being ousted from the AIADMK, had won the RK Nagar constituency bypoll under the “Pressure Cooker” symbol.

However, for the April 18 polls, the Election Commission has awarded ‘gift box’ as a poll symbol. Notwithstanding, Dhinakaran exuded confidence that his party will reap success.

National parties are allowed a permanent symbol on which they can contest across the country, while regional parties can contest only in some states on their permanent symbol. When a newly registered party approaches the Election Commission, it is given a list of free symbols to choose from.

MNM candidate AG Maurya, who is contesting from North Chennai constituency, said the torch symbol was ideal for their party.

“Battery torch gives light, identifies the bad and you know it will enlighten whoever enters the light. Battery torch is going to create a new era,” he told PTI.

The party is holding a promotion campaign through online and other media.

“There is a team which is constantly working on propagating the battery torch symbol online and my leader (Kamal Haasan) also displays the battery torch in media giving it visibility,” he said.

“In my campaign vehicle, we are keeping a giant battery torch. The workers carry a torchlight, even if it is day time. So it is easily remembered by voters,” he said.

Makkal Needhi Mariam recently completed its first anniversary. The party is contesting the April 18 Lok Sabha polls in all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry.

Besides the new parties, election symbol is an issue for the old ones too like Marumalarchi Dravidar Katchi (MDMK) led by Vaiko and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).

The MDMK lost its party symbol (top) due to its failure to get sufficient vote share and its candidate A Ganeshamurthi, a two-time MP, is contesting on DMK’s rising sun symbol from the Erode (SC) constituency.

The VCK is contesting on two different symbols during this elections. Its founder Chief Thol Thirumavalavan is contesting under ‘pot’ symbol from the Chidambaram constituency, while his colleague D Ravikumar will contest on Rising Sun symbol from the Villupuram constituency.

Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss was seen holding a mango, his party’s election symbol, during campaigning, while party cadres carried props of the fruit during rallies and road shows.

A former senior election commission official said the symbol is crucial for bigger parties.

“They have much more at stake. It is not one seat or two seats and when a large number of seats are involved, the symbol becomes important,” he said.

“If some established party wants to field new faces, the new face may not be known in the constituency. So for him/her to get recognition among voters, he/she needs something with which the voters are familiar and that is the party symbol,” he said.

It may be recalled that factions led by Sasikala-Dhinakaran and KG Palanisamy were involved in a bitter tussle over securing the “two leaves” symbol of the AIADMK.

A giant sculpture depicting the poll symbol is installed at the entrance of party founder and the late chief minister MG Ramachandran’s memorial located on the seashores of Marina in Chennai.

Noted political analyst Sumanth Raman said party symbol has a certain value but it is diminishing as communication is getting better these days.

“In earlier days, to familiarise the people with the symbol was very difficult. In every street, the political parties used to hold meetings to make the people aware. There was no social media,” he said.

“It was challenging for political parties to make voters in rural areas aware about the poll symbol. But, these days, even in rural areas, it will take a symbol in 15-20 days to reach the masses using social media,” he told PTI.

“A recognisable symbol has an added advantage. But again, that does not determine the election”, he said.

Asked about contesting the polls on DMK’s symbol, MDMK Erode candidate A Ganeshamurthy said though his party had fought elections on different symbols in the past, he was confident of voters’ support.

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General elections 2019: PM Narendra Modi launched Kisan scheme “eyeing polls,” says DMK chief Stalin

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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DMK president M K Stalin Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the Rs 6,000 per annum assistance to marginal farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls.

Alleging that it has become Modi’s habit to claim there was a danger to religion if he was targeted, Stalin said his party was confident that “young leader Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister.”

Addressing a poll rally in Villupuram, he praised the Rs 6,000 per month Minimum Income Support Scheme of the Congress party and said the BJP-led NDA’s Kisan plan was however announced for the sake of the polls.

“Prime Minister Modi made the Rs 6,000 assistance announcement (under the Kisan scheme) with an eye on the polls. Has anyone got the assistance,?” he asked.

Stalin said Modi also made several promises in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election and wanted to know if such assurances had been fulfilled.

Training his guns on the AIADMK regime, which, he said, was in power for eight long years, Stalin assured that “Makkal Nala Paniyalargal,” (Workers for People’s Welfare), who were dismissed from service by the incumbent government would be reinstated. “We are going to appoint 50 lakh women as Workers for People’s Welfare,” he said.

The DMK had in its manifesto promised that it would press the Centre to emulate its model and appoint 50 lakh women across the country as welfare workers.

Seeking votes for DMK’s ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi candidate D Ravikumar, Stalin assured Rs 4,000 per tonne for sugarcane and Rs 2,500 for paddy as Minimum Support Price per quintal. VCK is contesting in the DMK’s rising sun symbol in Villupuram Lok Sabha seat.

Stalin said that steps would be taken to ensure that cane farmers got their remittances within 100 days for the produce procured from them. Both the Centre’s Fair and Remunerative Price and the State Advised Price for cane would be remitted to farmers through cooperative, State-run and private sugar mills, he said.

The Tamil Nadu government had last year decided to switch to a new pricing policy (from the SAP) to ensure better remuneration for farmers. The DMK chief also assured steps to roll back the hike in cable television charges.

Hitting out at Chief Minister K Palaniswami for taking pride in being a farmer, Stalin alleged that “Palaniswami claims that Stalin is against a farmer ruling Tamil Nadu. A farmer can helm the state.. I will support. But Palaniswami is not a farmer, he is a poisonous gas.”

Alleging that Palaniswami did not even visit the cyclone Gaja hit people in the Cauvery delta region for a week, he asked: “People are protesting against the Salem-Chennai expressway project. Is Palaniswami, who is continuously allowing land acquisition for the project a farmer…?”

In the morning Stalin sought votes here while on his routine morning walk. MNPs were recruited during the DMK regime and the party had said years ago that it was aimed at providing employment to rural youth.

After AIADMK assumed power in 2011, the posts were disbanded and the matter reached the Madras High Court and later the Supreme Court. Modi in February launched the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

In its interim budget 2019-20, the centre had announced the PM-KISAN scheme which envisages transfer of Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers having up to two hectares land.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

General elections 2019: Has the BJP miscalculated its seat selection in Tamil Nadu?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It is common knowledge by now that the BJP has hardly made any electoral impact in Tamil Nadu. However, in 2014, the saffron party managed to secure its first constituency in the state, when union minister Pon Radhakrishnan won India’s southern-most constituency, Kanyakumari, for the first time.

Interestingly, the BJP registered the victory despite an overwhelming victory by late J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK winning 37 out of 39 constituencies in the state. Today, the ruling party is in an alliance with the ruling AIADMK, PMK and DMDK, while contesting just five seats.

While being realistic about the number of constituencies the BJP is contesting in comes as no surprise, it is the choice of these constituencies that has raised eyebrows. The party’s chosen seats are mostly localised to Southern Tamil Nadu: the coastal hamlet of Ramanathapuram, P Chidambaram’s stronghold of Sivaganga, incumbent constituency Kanyakumari, port city Tuticorin, and Coimbatore — its lone constituency in the Western region.

For instance, the BJP has chosen to field its state president, Tamilisai Soundararajan, from Tuticorin. This, despite the DMK fielding a heavyweight — Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP M Kanimozhi — from the constituency, and the district’s anti-incumbency against the BJP’s alliance partner the AIADMK, in the aftermath of the anti-Sterlite protests.

The decision has stunned political analysts. “I just can’t understand why Dr Tamilisai who potentially stood a much better chance contesting from South Madras, would want to go contest in Tuticorin, and take on another heavyweight in Kanimozhi,” said political analyst, Sumanth C Raman.

The BJP, however, is confident of its chances. It claims that the elections are an opportunity to highlight the role of institutions like the church, in engineering the anti-Sterlite protests. “The churches have engineered most protests in Tamil Nadu,” BJP spokesperson Narayana Tirupathi, “Even in the Sterlite issue, the churches did the same. Since our state president is contesting, it is a great chance for us to say that the BJP has not done anything against the public in Tuticorin.”

Another reason the BJP is focusing on Southern Tamil Nadu is that it hopes to leverage the fact that many government projects have been launched here. This includes the newly inaugurated AIIMS in Madurai and several road-and-rail projects in Kanyakumari. But the principal opposition, the DMK, is fighting this perception — claiming that voters know the difference between genuine schemes and poll gimmicks.

“If Modi had announced these schemes at the beginning of his tenure in 2014 or 2015 and has come now to inaugurate these schemes or their successful completion — of AIIMs or whatever schemes they’ve announced — people would have taken him seriously,” said DMK spokesperson, A Saravanan.

Some experts say the BJP may have been forced into contesting these seats, irrespective of poll fortunes — largely because crucial allies like the AIADMK, PMK and DMDK picked their strongholds in Northern Tamil Nadu by default. So, the question remains: will the saffron party better its tiny deposit in Tamil Nadu? Two months is all the time it takes to have that answer.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Heart attack kills AIADMK MLA Kanagaraj

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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AIADMK legislator R. Kanagaraj, representing the Sulur Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu, died of heart attack on Thursday morning, said police.

Kanagaraj, 64, was at his residence when he passed away. He is survived by his wife, a son and daughter. Sulur is part of Coimbatore district.

With Kanagaraj’s death, the number of vacant Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu goes up to 22 and the number of AIADMK legislators in the assembly comes down to 114 including the Speaker.

The Election Commission has announced by-elections for 18 Assembly constituencies on April 18 along with the Lok Sabha polls.

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AIADMK promises national poverty eradication scheme

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The AIADMK promised on Tuesday a slew of measures in its manifesto, including a national poverty eradication initiative that will be named after late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Releasing the manifesto for the general election at a press conference here, AIADMK coordinator and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said the party would “vigorously pursue” the Amma National Poverty Eradication Initiative (ANPEI).

“Based on the experience already gained by the AIADMK government in this regard, a direct transfer of Rs 1,500 per month to the targeted population of the poor and the deprived (people below poverty line, destitute women, widows without income, differently-abled, landless agricultural labourers, rural and urban manual labourers, destitute senior citizens etc) should not be difficult to implement,” the party said.

Jayalalithaa is addressed as ‘Amma’ (mother) by supporters and the ruling AIADMK is already implementing a series of welfare measures under the Brand Amma initiative, including the popular Amma subsidised canteens.

Among others, it promised to press for the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandjhi assassination case and strive for the scrapping of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) for medical admissions.

The state goes to polls in a single phase on April 18.

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General Election 2019 Trivia: How many political parties are there in India?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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With the Election Commission gearing up for the 17th Lok Sabha election, that will be held in seven phases across the country, political parties and voters have shifted into the election mode. Almost 90 crore eligible voters will cast their votes to elect their preferred candidates, out of which 1.5 crore individuals will vote for the first time.

Since the independence, political parties in India have grown many folds, up by about 780 percent from a handful of 54 parties in 1950 to 475 parties in 2014.

This year, All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are the national parties that will be contesting in the Lok Sabha  elections.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow