The scorching sun was no deterrent for hundreds of AIADMK cadres who thronged the streets to see their leader and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa file her nomination for the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency on Monday.
At around 12.20 p.m., her convoy reached the Tondiarpet Zonal Office of the Greater Chennai Corporation in Old Washermenpet where she signed the papers with a blue-coloured pen and handed them over to the Returning Officer T.N. Padmaja Devi. She also read out the oath of allegiance in the name of God. Ms. Jayalalithaa, who is also the sitting MLA of the constituency, was accompanied by her close associate Sasikala.
Senior Ministers and party leaders including O. Panneerselvam, Natham R. Viswanathan, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, R.Vaithilingam, S.P. Velumani, Sellur K. Raju, C. Vijaya Baskar, R.B. Udhayakumar, B. Valarmathi and S. Gokula Indira and North Chennai (north) district secretary P. Vetrivel, and party presidium chairman P. Madhusudhanan were present on the occasion.
Within a few minutes, she came out of the office, and on her way back, she stopped the convoy several times to meet senior ministers and cadres.
All along the route, cadres had lined up to greet her convoy. “We’ve arrived early so that we can see her as her convoy passes us,” said N. Pazhaniammal, a resident of the constituency who had assembled near Tiruvottiyur high road.
With Nagaswaram and ‘Chenda Melam’ troupes providing a musical backdrop, jubilant cadres were seen handing out party flags and small banners to people near the Royapuram bridge. There was lot of visual entertainment as well, with dance troupes putting up performances on temporary stages erected all along the way and a few cadres leading small processions of supporters while doing ‘Silambattam’.
