Staying in touch with voters and easy access to elected representatives have emerged as strong themes of the DMK, in the run-up to the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The DMK, which lost power in the 2011 elections to the AIADMK, has latched on to the one grouse that has often been levelled against AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa — inaccessibility.
In the absence of a strong anti incumbency wave as in most previous elections, which accounted for the State alternating between the rule of the two Dravidian parties, accessibility and contact with voters have given the DMK’s campaign a much-needed peg this time.
Both M Karunanidhi, president of the DMK, and MK Stalin, the second-in-command and Treasurer of the party, have underlined and contrasted their campaigning and working style with that of Jayalalithaa.
Stalin, addressing a public meeting here on Wednesday after filing his nomination papers to contest from Kolathur constituency, of which he is the incumbent MLA, said: “At the risk of sounding boastful I would like to highlight the continuous work and constant touch here. I say this not because this is about me, but also to ensure that every elected candidate does this.”
Though the DMK had not even been the main opposition in the last five years, he had fully committed to the development of the constituency, Stalin added.
Karunanidhi, who at 92 is making a bid to become an MLA for the 13{+t}{+h} time, dwells on this topic in his campaign speeches.
Launching his three-week campaign tour last Saturday from Saidapet constituency, he pointed out that Stalin has toured the entire State by road and has a close connect with voters.
But Jayalalithaa, he said, uses a helicopter and travels like a ‘queen’.
Though the DMK leaders also criticise the government’s handling of the floods in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu in December 2015, and allege use of money power by the AIADMK, the accessibility issue appears to be their main poll plank this time around.