Chennai, Apr 17 (Representative) The hustle and bustle of the high octane campaign for theFriday’s single phase elections to Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu ended on Wednesdayevening. Polling will be held for 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the loneseat in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Along with the Lok Sabha seats, bye-election to the Vilavancode Assembly seat, whichfell vacant following the resignation of Congress MLA Ms. S.Vijayadharani, who quit theparty and joined the BJP, will also be held. As the campaigning drew to a close at 1800 hrs this evening, candidates, cutting acrosspolitical lines, made a last ditch effort to woo the voters by indulging in door-to-doorcampaigning.The elections will witness a no-holds barred contest in a four-cornered battle betweenthe ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which is also a key partner ofthe Opposition-led INDIA bloc at the National level, the AIADMK and the BJP fronts,apart from the Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) of Actor-director Seeman.
This will be the first election faced by the AIADMK under the unitary leadership ofits General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami after hetook over the party’s mantle with the support of the majority of the party membersat the General Council meeting in 2022, after a protracted legal wrangle and gettingthe official recognition of the Election Commission as the sole party leader. The meeting ousted O.Panneerselvam, also a former CM, for revolting against hisdecision to restore the party to the unitary leadership and insisted maintenance ofstatus quo of dual leadership led by them. The whirlwind campaign witnessed virulent attacks against each other as the parties in fraygird up their loins to make a mark in the electoral scenario, in what is seen as an acid testfor the three key contenders–the two Dravidiain majors and the BJP.
More vociferous and acerbic was none other then the DMK, which went all out in its blistering attack against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and also Prime Minister NarendraModi, besides the AIADMK.The AIADMK on the other hand, after being circumspect in the initial phase and was guarded against its criticisms against the BJP, with which it had severed its ties after successive polldebacles and in a bid to attract the minority voters, upped its ante against the saffron party asthe campaign neared its business end.The BJP was vocal against the DMK and the AIADMK, flaying both of them of beingcorrupt and not concerned about the welfare of the State, while the NTK going it alone asusual, minced no words in flaying the three key parties in the fray. The BJP had quite often hit out at the DMK for pursuing dynastic politics and was keenon furthering its familial interests, apart from being corrupt.