Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 8 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin on Wednesday held an election campaign in Tiruvannamalai, as the state gears up for the upcoming Assembly elections.
During the campaign, the Chief Minister paid floral tributes to the statue of the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch, M Karunanidhi.
Stalin's campaign trail in Tiruvannamalai comes as he intensifies poll outreach across the state ahead of the April 23 single-phase Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Earlier on Tuesday, while addressing an election rally at Cuddalore Manjakuppam ground, Stalin criticised the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and its general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
CM Stalin stated that Palaniswami said he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to cover up his mistakes and that "the AIADMK has now become a Sangh organisation and has become 'Amit Shah Munnetra Kazhagam'."
He also questioned whether Palaniswami had listed his achievements even once.
CM Stalin alleged that the BJP had not implemented any major project for Tamil Nadu and that the flyover built near Chidambaram was damaged due to poor quality.
He said that the DMK had corrected the damage done during the 10 years of the AIADMK rule and that the state's growth rate had increased from 0.07 per cent to 11.19 per cent. He said that Tamil Nadu is now known worldwide as a "superstar state".
Meanwhile, Palaniswami, referring to a viral audio clip, claimed that Stalin had kept his father, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, under "house arrest" in his last days.
Responding to these allegations, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) founder and General Secretary Vaiko lashed out at Palaniswami over his remarks.
Speaking to ANI, Vaiko termed the statement "irresponsible" and "baseless" and said that such rhetoric does not suit the stature of a former Chief Minister. "Edappadi K. Palaniswami has gone beyond his limits. He is speaking irresponsibly. This is a baseless statement," Vaiko said.
Meanwhile, the main contest in the election is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes the Indian National Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is also set to make his electoral debut with TVK, which could turn the contest into a three-way fight.
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