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Jaya
pulls big crowds, disappoints them
Jayaraj Sivan
Tirunelveli,
April 25: AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha’s week-long election
campaign in southern Tamil Nadu has proved that ‘‘MGR’s
political heiress’’ was as good a crowd puller as the
grand man of Tamil Nadu politics. Her vehicle was literally like
a bee hive with party workers and people swamping it at Kanyakumari
on Sunday night, when Jayalalitha visited the southern tip of the
state to campaign for party candidate Rajya Sabha MP Dalavai Sundaram.
| ADMK expects sympathy wave |
| Chennai: AIADMK expects a sympathy wave to sweep the
elections in favour of the Secular Front after Jayalalitha was
disqualified from contesting the elections. Party leaders termed
the disqualification ‘‘most undemocratic’’ and blamed it on
the conspiracy of Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi,
who wants to annoint son Stalin to the throne after him. ‘‘Karunanidhi
aims to destroy the party founded by MGR and safeguarded by
Jayalalitha,’’ AIADMK leaders charge. Terming the DMK rule as
one leading to destruction, they were confident and believed
that the peoples’ verdict would be in Jayalalith’s favour. Many
of them said it would be a complete sweep in all the constituencies.
AIADMK leaders were also confident that Jayalalitha would be
the next chief minister. ‘‘Previously, late C.N. Annadurai and
recently Pondicherry chief minister P. Shanmugam contested in
the elections only after their party/front captured power,’’
they justified their calim. — ENS |
When she said
that she could not speak over the public address system due to Election
Commission restrictions, people attempted to get closer to her to
hear her. But throughout the tour, she failed to gauge the mood
of the common man and her speeches lacked punch.
Even in places
where a few thousands had gathered to hear her, she failed to address
the issues which were close to their hearts. Before small gatherings,
she just introduced the candidate and moved on. And in larger meetings,
she went on repeating the charges of corruption against Karunanidhi
and his family.
Since most
people had been reading her speeches in newspapers day in and day
out, they became rather ineffective. Unlike her last election campaign,
she failed to play the sentimental card, which would have evoked
response from the women among the crowd.
The former
chief minister also had nothing to highlight as her achievements
nor did she have anything concrete to offer about her future plans.
By avoiding BJP bashing, she had probably earned the wrath of the
minorities.
‘‘Despite
heading an anti-BJP alliance in the state, she had not attacked
the BJP for various reasons,’’ said TMMK Tirunelveli district
president Millath Ismail. He said: ‘‘She expects a political
realignment to take place after the election. She does not have
faith in TMC as she feels that Moopanar will join hands with Karunanidhi
after polls. If Jayalalitha can come to power with BJP support in
Tamil Nadu, she will naturally extend support to BJP Government
at the Centre.’’
Jayalalitha’s
entourage for the campaign was quite similar to the pre-1996 poll
style. What she used to do using police then, she continues to do
now with her personal staff, who project themselves as plain clothes
police personnel. Some of them move in vehicles having ‘‘police’’
stickers to escape the vigilant eyes of Election Commission.
An observer
Sekhar said, ‘‘People do not want the 1996-style of Jayalalitha.
If she needs public support again, she has to prove that she has
changed. When she came to the masses, she failed to prove that she
had changed. Still, she has scope if she is ready to learn. She
still has a bright political future but people around her are not
feeding her the right information on various issues.’’
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