Days before key Tamil Nadu polls, MK Stalin reaches out to women

Chennai:

Days ahead of the Erode pre-elections in Tamil Nadu, the DMK government has announced that it will fulfill its poll promise of Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to women in the upcoming budget in March.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin made the announcement while launching his campaign for the Erode East constituency elections to be held on February 27. Campaigning for Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan.

The DMK leader claimed that his government has fulfilled 85% of its poll promises. “We have implemented first-of-its-kind free bus travel for women and free breakfast in schools. We made election promises for five years but we will fulfill them by the end of this year.”

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Congress MLA Thirumahan Evra. An ally of the ruling DMK has fielded veteran leader EVKS Elangovan, who is the late MLA’s father.

Describing the election as a referendum on his government, Stalin asked voters to forfeit the deposits of the AIADMK candidate.

While it is a battle of prestige for the ruling DMK, it is the first election for AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami after becoming the sole leader of the party. The Erode East seat is part of the western belt of the state, traditionally seen as an AIADMK stronghold.

The party aims to reclaim the seat which it lost in 2021 by a margin of less than 9,000 votes.

The bypoll campaign has been marred by allegations of cash-for-vote by both the parties.

AIADMK MP Thambidurai said, “The ruling party keeps people locked in sheds for the whole day, pays them in cash and serves biryani, so that AIADMK rallies don’t get good turnout.”

BJP state chief K Annamalai called it “strip culture”. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram denied these allegations. “They can report it to the Election Commission. These are allegations. The mood of the people is clear. They will vote correctly.”

In the Erode bypoll, which is seen as a prelude to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling DMK has received an unexpected support from actor-politician Kamal Haasan, a staunch critic of Dravidian parties.