The curtains came down on the rather long and tiring campaign for the Assembly election but not before candidates of various political criss-crossed their constituencies in a hectic last-minute attempt to enlist the support of the voters.
On the last day, most candidates raced against time to reach out to as many voters as possible by going around the constituencies in vehicles.
DMK MP Kanimozhi toured the district canvassing support for the DMK-Congress combine candidates. However, the long-drawn out campaign at the peak of summer saw most top political leaders restricting their campaign to public meetings rather than touring the constituencies by road.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vedaranyam was the high point of the BJP’s attempt to make a dent in Dravidian heartland, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and DMK president M. Karunanidhi raised the poll pitch addressing well attended public meetings at the G. Corner grounds, which has in recent years become a favourite venue for political parties. BJP president Amit Shah too had addressed an early election rally at Mannarpuram grounds.
Not to be left behind, senior national Left leaders including Brinda Karat and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar campaigned for the DMDK-PWD combine, touted as an alternative to the Dravidian parties. The Third Front put up a show of strength with a joint meeting in the city early this week.
DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin, DMDK women’s wing leader Premalatha Vijayakant, and TNCC President E.V.K.S. Elangovan, were among those who undertook campaign by road across the constituencies.
While some of the candidates leveraged the social media to carry their messages, the former DMK Minister K.N. Nehru chose to distribute printed letters door-to-door to convey his promises to the electorate in Tiruchi West constituency.
As many as 146 candidates are in the fray for the nine Assembly constituencies in Tiruchi district with an electorate of 21,56,033. Tiruverumbur has the maximum number of 21 contestants in the district, followed by 20 in Musiri, 19 in Manachanallur, 15 each in Srirangam, Tiruchi West, Tiruchi East, and Lalgudi and 13 each in Manapparai and Thruraiyur (SC) constituencies.
DMK president M. Karunanidhi, State Ministers C. Vijaya Baskar, R. Vaithilingam, Senthil Balaji, and R. Kamaraj and DMK heavyweights such as Mr. Nehru, S. Regupathy and K.C. Palanichamy are among candidates whose fortunes are at stake in the central region.
