The Tamil Nadu CM has officially kicked off the AIADMK’s campaign for the 2021 Assembly elections and set the ball rolling for one of the most interesting battles at the hustings in recent times. This is the first time Edappadi K Palaniswami is going to fight as AIADMK’s chief ministerial candidate. Earlier, the party had strategically unknotted a possible leadership tangle between him and his deputy O Panneerselvam to pave the way for a united front against multiple contestants.
The two leaders even overhauled the party apparatus by appointing new organising secretaries, bifurcating and trifurcating party districts for better coordination. They also stressed on the need to strengthen booth committees. It is to his credit that Palaniswami has been the only political leader in TN who has extensively traversed the state in recent months ever since the total lockdown was lifted in July, personally meeting those worst hit by the pandemic, such as farmers, women’s self-help groups, traders and MSME entrepreneurs.
He almost always added a dollop of human connect during his visits by getting off the car on many occasions to sink his feet into slushy farmlands, interacting with farmers and sometimes even advising passersby to compulsorily wear face masks. Apart from his frequent visits to hospitals, his announcement of 2,000 mini clinics across the state will be perceived as coming at an appropriate time. By these gestures, he seems to have branded himself as a grassroots leader, never missing an opportunity to convey this to his opponents as well.
Further, by projecting TN as the favoured investment destination by signing deals worth more than Rs 50,000 crore, the CM has conveyed the message that his government is wedded to the concept of marrying agriculture with industrialisation.
However, his biggest talking points will be the announcement of 7.5% NEET reservation for students of government schools and the caste survey. Palaniswami was written off by political pundits the day he became CM, yet he showed surprising survival skills. The challenge now is to connect with the voters and convince them to give his party another shot at power. How well he goes about it and shakes off anti-incumbency remains to be seen.