TIRUCHY: With Pongal round the corner and the 2026 state Assembly elections just months away, the harvest festival has become an early political battleground in central Tamil Nadu. Major parties have begun distributing premium gift hampers to reach out to voters through high-profile drives led by DMK and AIADMK leaders.
In Tiruchy West, (Minister KN Nehru’s constituency), Pongal kits are being delivered across over 23 wards through DMK ward secretaries and councillors, targeting both traditional DMK supporters and others willing to accept them.
A DMK ward secretary said the instruction was clear: not to refuse anyone. “Even voters from other parties should be given gifts if they are ready to accept it,” he said.
Over the past two days, scenes of residents approaching to collect gift boxes and cadres moving from door to door have become the new normal across several wards. Party workers said that additional stocks were being issued whenever the units ran out of gifts.
Unlike earlier years when Nehru restricted Pongal gifts to basic items such as pots or sugarcane, this year’s package is markedly more premium, combining pants, shirts and sarees with stainless-steel kitchenware, including four plates, four tumblers and two cooking pans, all packed in boxes carrying the images of Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, KN Nehru and MP Arun Nehru.
While residents who received the kits said its combined market value easily crossed Rs 2,500 per household, a DMK functionary pointed out that the scale is far larger than before. “In just one ward, we are planning to distribute between 2,500 and 3,000 gift hampers. When you multiply that across all 23-plus wards in Tiruchy West, you can understand how massive this is,” he said.
Pongal gift boxes from some leaders include stainless steel plates, pots and grocery items
Responding to criticism that the drive is election-oriented, DMK Tiruchy city district secretary M Anbazhagan told TNIE that it was a routine gesture. “Our grassroots workers and their families have worked continuously for the party. This is to thank them. The government has already announced a Pongal assistance of `3,000, and the party leaders are doing their part in parallel,” he said.
In Viralimalai in Pudukkottai district, AIADMK leader C Vijayabaskar has also begun distributing traditional Pongal kits containing silver cooking pots, rice, jaggery, ghee, sweets, dry fruits and prayer items. In Viralimalai constituency, which covers over 85 panchayats and more than 80,000 ration card holders, the AIADMK has been distributing Pongal gift kits worth about `800 each.
A local AIADMK functionary said the gifts are being given to their supporters and BJP members. “If a family has two voters who have traditionally been our supporters, then both are given separate kits,” he said, adding that the distribution is being carried out through party office-bearers at the local level.
DMK sources in Karur said that former minister V Senthil Balaji is expected to begin a similar Pongal gift drive shortly, underlining how the festival has become an early moment of voter mobilisation ahead of the elections.
Meanwhile, taking to Facebook, Karthik Mohan, deputy secretary of DMK IT wing, posted photos of the distribution of Pongal gift boxes in ward 105 in Anna Nagar, Chennai, on Saturday. While the actual number of boxes distributed remains unclear, Karthik’s post stated that the public in wards 107 and 108 have been receiving gifts since January 8.
Each gift box contained a 10-piece cooking set with three pots, two plates, two tumblers and three types of ladles. Each side of the box listed out the DMK government’s achievements.
(With inputs from T Muruganandham @ Chennai)