COIMBATORE: The TVK's district-level functionaries have been instructed to strengthen the party at the booth level within a month by increasing membership and identifying major local issues similar to the custodial death in Sathankulam that occurred in 2020.
The recent arrival of actor-politician Vijay in Coimbatore, which marked his first official political visit here, sparked political tension as he aimed to build the foundational structure of his party, focusing on booth-level committee meetings.
Accompanying Vijay were key party functionaries, including the election campaign management general secretary Aadhav Arjuna, deputy general secretary for the IT and social media unit CTR Nirmal Kumar, propaganda secretary A Rajmohan and several others. They participated in a two-day training session exclusively for booth agents and district-level functionaries.
A district-level functionary who attended the session said that they received instructions to establish party presence at every booth across the state within a month.
"Various tasks have been assigned to booth agents and functionaries to strengthen the party by creating a harmonious environment with voters at the booth level, addressing basic issues faced by the voters and bringing the issues to light proactively. They were also encouraged to connect with voters through modern social media, and the old method 'thinnai pracharam' (verandah or portico campaigns), and street meetings ('therumunai pracharam')," he said.
He added, "As an actor, Vijay is a well-known figure, and his ideologies are well-received. But we need to convey his image and perspective to the voters by meeting them in person. We have established separate wings for women, youth, lawyers and social media. Each team is expected to gather at least 10 members within a month and hold its first meeting to strategize on reaching the maximum number of people in their field."
Every booth contains between 250 to 1,300 votes, with many being first-time voters familiar with the TVK. Through these voters, we aim to connect with the general public, he noted.
A booth agent from Tiruppur who attended the meeting said that they were instructed to create two WhatsApp groups for each booth. One group is for TVK supporters to update them on the party's activities, while the other is for the general public to discuss local social issues and highlight what the party did on it.
Referencing the Sathankulam custodial death, which significantly influenced the 2021 assembly election and contributed to DMK's victory, booth agents were advised to highlight similar issues from the ground level, as these are expected to negatively impact the ruling government in the upcoming assembly election.
The Sathankulam incident was initially brought to the attention of DMK leaders by a local functionary of the area, which had a major impact on the election outcome. Similarly, we are encouraged to identify and relay common concerns to party leadership. We have been instructed to dedicate at least 30 minutes each day to party activities," he said.
Furthermore, suggestions were made in a 36-page presentation regarding strategies to work after the announcement of the election date, including avoiding bribery, monitoring rival parties, assisting women and elderly individuals to cast their votes, and outlining how booth agents should operate on election and during the counting of results.
Instructions were also given to ignore fake news, personal attacks, and to prevent booth agents from jumping to other parties at the last minute. They plan to hold similar meetings in the remaining four zones of Tamil Nadu, with the dates to be announced soon, the functionary said.