Elections 2024: Tamil Nadu remains strong bastion for INDIA bloc

Lok Sabha elections will be held in Tamil Nadu in a single phase on April 19.  All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry will vote in a single phase on April 19 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4.

Ahead of the April 19 Lok Sabha polls, Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK appears to be confident after implementing several welfare measures including the Rs 1,000 per month assistance to women.

Led by Chief Minister M K Stalin, the DMK and its other key constituent of the INDIA alliance, the Congress are approaching the polls in good humour with full confidence to win at least 35 out of 39 seats of the Lok Sabha in Tamil Nadu, and Congress retain its lead in Puducherry’s single seat.

Since the major regional rival AIADMK, shadowed by infighting, walked out of the BJP alliance, it’s likely to split the NDA-vote seen in the 2019 elections. The BJP is, however, hopeful of reversing the fortune under an aggressive K Annamalai who is the state BJP head.

Since the Congress’ alliance with DMK and other Left parties under INDIA bloc is going strong in the state, the results may upset all other rival candidates in the state.

 

Sasikala on comeback path, confident to lead AIADMK at appropriate time

Ousted interim general secretary of the AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala said that she was on a comeback path and will lead the party at an appropriate time. She also said that she and O. Panneerselvam were together and that she would soon visit the party headquarters in Chennai.

Sasikala in a statement on Friday said that the AIADMK would win all the Lok Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu in the 2024 general elections. The estranged leader said that the majority of the party cadres are with her and O. Panneerselvam and that she would soon be at the helm of affairs in the party.

The former aide of late Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa who was one of the most powerful figures in the AIADMK, said that the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin does not have any time for governance and was busy in photo shoots.

The former interim general secretary of the AIADMK said that the party cadres are for a change in the AIADMK and said that several leaders and cadres have approached her.

The powerful Thevar community, which has been a traditional support base for the AIADMK in South India, has been trying to bridge the gap between Sasikala and O. Panneerselvam who both are from the community. With O. Panneerselvam being targeted in the AIADMK, the Thevar community has been taking initiatives for an alliance between the two powerful Thevar leaders.

  • AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala Natarajan.(File Photo: IANS)