He made no references to other political rivals - Sonia Gandhi and her Congress or DMK's erstwhile ally, G K Moopanar and his TMC.

Pointing out that it was Jayalalitha who had appealed to people to vote for a stable government at the Centre in 1998 elections, he hit out at her for toppling the BJP-led government.

Jayalalitha cheated the people by soliciting votes in the name of stability in 1998, he charged.

Launching his election tour to canvass votes for National Democratic Alliance candidates, Karunanidhi addressed meetings at Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Madurantakam, Tindivanam, Panruti and Cuddalore. He held Jayalalitha fully responsible for toppling the BJP Government. `If the BJP Government could not function properly out of fear that they would be toppled anytime, it was only due to Jayalalitha,' hesaid.

He ridiculed Jayalalitha's songs during her campaign for the 1999 elections that Vajpayee has cheated (Eamatri Vittar) her. Amidst laughter from the crowd, he asked her to ponder over the implications of a woman's statement that a man had cheated her.

Karunanidhi said the people would not accept the opposition parties' charge that NDA's constituents in the state were anti-minorities, anti-poor and anti-Dalits. In fact, the DMK is the saviour of the dalits, minorities and poor right from its inception, he said.

He said Vajpayee was a good statesman and should be voted back to power. He regretted that because the fresh elections were brought about by Jayalalitha, the new schemes and programmes announced by the DMK regime could not be implemented in view of the poll code of conduct.

A good turnout of people belonging to different age groups was witnessed along the National Highway and other roads in northern TN, when Karunanidhi, travelling by a tempo traveller, covered his trailtirelessly.