CHENNAI: TVK chief and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday returned to Madurantakam for a second round of campaigning, a week after holding a public meeting in the constituency. This time he took a more personal approach by driving a tractor, sipping tea and interacting with the crowd gathered to greet him.
The CM’s campaign vehicle travelled through 35 villages, covering over 50 km in over five hours and stopping at multiple points to directly interact with voters.
Campaigning for TVK candidate Maragatham Kumaravel, this is the first time Vijay is returning to the same Assembly constituency for a second round of campaigning during an election. Unlike his earlier campaign, where Vijay addressed a large gathering from a stage, on Friday — with just two more days of campaigning left — the CM went through smaller settlements and narrow village roads of the constituency.
Vijay reached Mamandur around 1.30 pm, at the beginning of the Madurantakam constituency, where Maragatham Kumaravel joined him in the campaign vehicle. Starting the roadshow at Mamandur, the CM covered a string of villages and localities, including Padalam, Melavalampettai, Karunguzhi, Thandalam, Ramapuram, Mogalvadi, Elappakkam, Sothupakkam and Melmaruvathur.
Vijay also made several unscheduled stops along the route, stepping down from his campaign vehicle at least five times to receive aarti and greetings from people. In one such stop, Vijay walked into a tea shop, where he sat with local residents, had tea and interacted with them while seeking support for his party candidate.
The informal interaction, particularly with elderly people at the shop, stood out from his conventional campaign format. The TVK leader also made a stop at a slushy field getting ready for cultivation. After speaking to agriculture workers, Vijay got into a tractor and drove it through the farmland for a few minutes before resuming the roadshow.
Though Vijay usually avoids campaigning beyond 6 pm, he continued till well after dusk, wrapping it up only around 7 pm. Traffic was heavy along the roadshow route, with vehicles moving slowly over a 1.5-km stretch as police regulated traffic in accordance with the CM’s movement. Six cars were involved in a chain collision near Pakkam before the CM reached the spot, leaving three drivers with minor head injuries.
