‘It is not a surprise for us’ – this was the standard response from people questioned on their reaction to the resounding victory recorded by the AIADMK in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The manner in which people welfare schemes were being implemented and the well-known friendship between the prime ministerial candidate and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had resulted in this massive victory, they added.
Stating that she had expected this result considering the uplifting public welfare measures implemented from the last quarter of 2011, Ms. Mahesh of Makkal Mandram said another big factor for the victory, among certain sections of the Tamil community, was the remission of life sentence for the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
T. Sadagopan, consumer activist from Pattabiram in Tiruvallur district, said: “Tiruvallur is a main area, where three major reservoirs — Red Hills, Poondi and Chembarampakkam — which supply water to the city are located. However, the district is facing a serious water scarcity in the last few years.” He hoped the newly elected MP of the constituency would help them.
Pointing out that public welfare remains the main objective of both the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and the incumbent Prime Minister, Abubhacker of Valasarawalkam, a retired government servant, K.S. Raghavan, president of the Alandur Resident Welfare Association, and Pattabiraman of Nandivaram-Guduvancheri, who is the honorary president of the Tamil Nadu Hotels Association, said they did not foresee or predict any hitch in the Centre-State relationship.
The image of the Chief Minister among the northern districts was that of a good administrator who would definitely help the State reap benefits in the years to come, said E. Subramanian of Chengalpattu, president of the Traders’ Welfare Association.
