VELLORE: The ruling AIADMK is facing the elections to Vellore Lok Sabha constituency, with the challenges of stopping the DMK juggernaut from rolling further and increasing the vote share which plummeted in the April general elections. Although the contestant is from an ally, AC Shanmugam of Puthiya Neethi Katchi, the party treats him as its own candidate.
The entire Tamil Nadu Cabinet and party top brass are camping in the constituency to ensure victory in the poll scheduled for August 5. Chief Minister and AIADMK joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami, and his deputy and party coordinator O Panneerselvam have been on whirlwind tours across the constituency garnering votes for Shanmugam while the ministers are involved in micromanagement of the affairs on the ground.
While the rampaging DMK, which wants to mop up Vellore, sounds upbeat and confident of adding one more constituency to its tally, the AIADMK is playing all the tricks up in its sleeves in order to reverse the trend that prevailed in April. A win in Vellore will be a turnaround for the party to revive its fortunes and lift the sagging spirit of the cadre.
“Yes surely. Victory in Vellore will definitely boost the morale of our party cadre,” says senior AIADMK leader and MLA S Semmalai. “The outcome of the Vellore elections is going to be a turning point for the party and government. We have learnt lessons from the April general elections, and accordingly, we have revitalised the party’s functioning and governance,” he told Express.
Sounding confident of his party reversing the trend in Vellore, Semmalai said that the voters have realized that only those in power at the Centre and State can deliver good governance to them. “Voters have realised the fact that only AIADMK, which is in power, can bring in beneficial projects and welfare activities.”