Tamil Nadu All Set To Vote To Elect New Government

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, April 6 (Bernama) -- More than 62 million people are eligible to vote as Tamil Nadu gets ready to elect a new state assembly on Tuesday. The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is facing a tough challenge from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) bidding to return to power after a decade in opposition. Voters will choose lawmakers for the 234-member assembly from about 4,000 contestants belonging to various political parties. DMK chief M.K. Stalin and AIADMK leader and Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami campaigned hard in recent weeks, assisted by their alliance partners. The DMK is encouraged by its strong performance in the 2019 parliamentary election and hopes to deny the AIADMK a record third consecutive term in office. The AIADMK, having lost its charismatic leader J. Jayalalithaa in 2016, is hopeful its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would secure it another victory. Tamil Nadu has emerged as a key battleground in India's national politics as the Congress party is allied with the DMK to stop the BJP from gaining ground in the southern state. Political observers said Jayalalithaa's absence is likely to hit the AIADMK's prospects as the late leader did not allow any factionalism. "There is an unsettled leadership issue about who is going to inherit Jayalalithaa's mantle. On the other hand, Stalin faces no challenge within the DMK," T.K. Rajalakshmi, senior deputy editor of Frontline, a Chennai-based magazine, told Bernama. She said voters in the Tamil-speaking region are also wary of the BJP's pro-Hindi language policy and it is seen as a party representing north Indian interests. "Language is a big issue in Tami Nadu. Even the AIADMK cadre is suspicious of the BJP," Rajalakshmi said. R. Manivannan, a professor of political science at Madras University, said the BJP factor is not helping the state's ruling party. "People suspect the BJP will run Tamil Nadu if the AIADMK wins and that's not helpful for centre-state relations. Pre-poll surveys show votes have shifted in favour of the DMK," he told Bernama. During the election campaigning, all major political parties made populist promises and offered freebies to attract voters. Results of the April 6 voting will be available on May 2. -- BERNAMA