Amidst the high octane campaign of the two main Dravidian parties, the Left parties are leveraging their organisational strength to carry on a street-by-street and door-to-door canvassing across the Srirangam Assembly constituency.
Dedicated groups of cadre of the two Left parties are marching across the lanes and by-lanes in Srirangam and as well as in villages enlisting support for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate K.Annadurai.
Though it was rather a surprise decision by the CPI (M) to contest the constituency to offer an alternative to the Dravidian parties and the BJP, the two Left parties have been striving hard to make an impact. Srirangam is a constituency where the Left has not contested for many decades now. Yet, office-bearers of the two parties hope to make a dent in the vote bank of the two main Dravidian parties.
“The by-election has been thrust on the people following the conviction of the AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa. The DMK, which is also facing corruption charges, is not an alternative to the AIADMK. Neither is the communal BJP.” This has been the refrain of the CPI (M) candidate’s campaign.
On Friday, Mr.Annadurai took up door-to-door canvassing in Srirangam targeting mostly the underprivileged section and underdeveloped parts of the town, to interact with voters and asking them to support him. “I will stand by you and fight for your rights,” he told the voters referring to lack of amenities in some of the areas around Keezhavasal. Though the former Chief Minister has implemented many big projects in the constituency, there are still many issues such as lack of civic amenities in Dalit colonies across the constituency, says K.Suresh, former city secretary of the Communist Party of India. “We are striving hard to push the BJP behind us in the by-election,” says one of the party representative.
