CHENNAI: Even as the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam outsmarted several senior DMK and AIADMK leaders and won in the seats they contested from, several voters struggled to name the TVK candidate they elected to power in the Assembly election. Some party supporters said that they had never even seen the local candidate campaigning, questioning the very notion that elections are won door-to-door.
A section of those who voted for the TVK told TNIE that they never saw their constituency candidate campaigning in their locality. Many among them said that TVK members neither conducted door-to-door campaigning nor distributed pamphlets. They also admitted they had little or no information about the candidate — even their name. A large number appeared to have voted solely based on the 'whistle' symbol, in support of actor Vijay.
S Vidhyalakshmi, a 32-year-old IT employee and mother of two from the TNHB colony in Korattur, said that she couldn't even recall the name of the party’s local candidate. "I only noticed his name when I was at the polling booth. I know nothing about him. I like Vijay and wanted him to succeed; I hence voted for the TVK," Ambattur constituency resident said.
Another voter, 24-year-old S Pavithra of North Korattur, said that she had seen A P Poornima and K N Sekar — the Ambattur seat candidate of the DMK and PMK respectively — campaign. "I, however, never saw the TVK candidate campaigning here. I witnessed the party’s bike rally two or three days before polling. Other than that, there was no campaigning. I have no idea about the TVK candidate, yet I voted for him," said the private firm employee.
Echoing similar views, several residents of Kumaran Nagar and nearby areas under Kolathur and Anna Nagar constituencies, among other places, said that they voted for the 'whistle' symbol without knowing anything about the candidate. S Kumaravel of Ponni Colony in Anna Nagar said, "I saw the DMK candidates canvassing for votes multiple times, but I didn't even know the name of the TVK candidate. I still voted for him. The TVK candidate had not also campaigned in our area."