NaMo rejuvenates NDA in TN

Kumar Chellappan

More than seeking votes for the BJP, Narendra Modi, the party’s prime ministerial candidate, is on a mission to unify and strengthen the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu. The choice of constituencies for his whirlwind campaign on Wednesday and Thursday has been done with this in mind. Out of the five rallies addressed by Modi, three were constituencies where the candidates are from the PMK, the DMDK and the MDMK. Interestingly, a Muslim woman translated Modi’s speech at Krishnagiri on Wednesday from Hindi to Tamil.

Wednesday’s rally at Coimbatore addressed by Modi has rejuvenated an otherwise sedate campaign by the NDA in Coimbatore and other nearby constituencies. Modi, who instantly established a direct rapport with the 50,000 strong crowd, declared that he has the solutions to resolve the major problems faced by the people of Tamil Nadu. The striking feature of his speech was the appeal to young voters, particularly those in the 18 to 28 age group, to cast their votes carefully as the next five years are going to be crucial for them. “He literally rocked the crowd,” said Gireesh, a Chartered Accountant who listened to his speech at Coimbatore.

Modi declared that the NDA led by the BJP would take up the project to interlink the major rivers in the country so that the floodwaters from the Ganga will reach the water starved Cauvery, the lifeline of people in Tamil Nadu, said Modi. “This was a dream project of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But the project to interlink the rivers was sabotaged by the UPA Government,” said Modi.

He also said the UPA Government sabotaged the project launched by the Vajpayee Government to establish a national power grid which could have helped in transferring the surplus power from States like Gujarat to power starved Tamil Nadu. “We do not have a direct line from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu. Though, Gujarat is having surplus power, we cannot transfer it to Tamil Nadu because of the absence of infrastructure. If voted to power, the NDA Government will take up these projects on war footing,” declared Modi and his announcement was received with thunderous applause.

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate also dealt at length to resuscitate the textile industry in Coimbatore which is facing the threat of extinction. “If Gujarat could make it a success, why can’t Tamil Nadu,” he asked.

He came down on the DMK and the AIADMK for their failure to address acute power and water shortage faced by the State. He did not spare the Congress and the Communists, which he described as forces working against the progress of the nation. “The manifesto of the CPI(M) is full of hate Modi campaign. They have no agenda other than preventing Modi from becoming the Prime Minister. The name Narendra Modi figures in the CPI(M) manifesto more number of times than that in the BJP manifesto,” ridiculed Modi.

Coimbatore has an emotional connect with the BJP. The party won the constituency in 1998 and 1999 in company of the AIADMK and the DMK respectively. In 1998, nearly 60 people were killed in a series of blasts perpetrated by Islamic terrorists in Coimbatore from which BJP leader LK Advani had a providential escape. The wounds caused in the Hindu psyche is yet to be healed. The BJP lost from Coimbatore in 2004 and 2009.

But this time around, the BJP as well as the other constituents in the NDA are confident of wresting Coimbatore and nearby constituencies. The power crisis and water shortage has devastated the economy of Coimbatore, described Manchester of south India, which once housed hundreds of textile mills, dyeing units and small and medium industries.

Sitting MP PR Natarajan of the CPI(M) does not have anything to showcase as his achievements and this is expected to make things easy for the NDA.Situation in neighbouring Pollachi constituency is also favourable to the NDA candidate E R Easwaran of the KMDK.

Courtesy : The Pioneer