Buoyed by the ‘increasing mass base’ of the party in Tamil-speaking areas of Palakkad, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has started efforts to field candidates in the Palakkad, Mannarkkad, Chittur, and Nenmara constituencies. The party will field candidates in three constituencies in Idukki district and at least one constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district.
“It was only last week party general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa appealed to the electorate in Kerala to ensure that the party makes its presence felt in the May 16 elections. We won six seats in the last local body elections and two of them were in Palakkad. We wish to improve the performance in the Assembly election,’’ said party’s Palakkad district secretary C. Sampath.
The party, in fact, launched its high-decibel campaigning in Palakkad on Sunday by organising a mammoth event in which a number of Tamil Nadu leaders, including Minister S.P. Velumani, turned up to celebrate 68th birth anniversary of Ms. Jayalalithaa along with party members and sympathisers in the district. The huge turnout has come as a surprise for the ruling UDF and the Opposition LDF. People in large numbers gathered at the Fort Maidan to celebrate the event, in which Mr. Velumani, A.K. Selvaraj, MP, and O.K. Chinnaraj, Tamil Nadu MLA, exhorted cadres to help the party grow in Kerala.
Party flags and hoardings carrying Ms. Jayalalithaa’s pictures can be seen in almost all parts of the eastern border areas of Palakkad. Propaganda vehicles and platform speakers have been roped in for the campaign. Those who attended Sunday’s meeting recalled that the Malampuzha dam and many other developmental projects were initiated in the district when it was part of the then undivided Madras State.
It was only three weeks ago the party had organised a well-attended Malampuzha Assembly segment convention. The party has a good support base in Attappady which is part of the Mannarkkad constituency. It also enjoys considerable clout among the electorate in Kozhinjampara, Muthalamada, Nallepilly and Eruthempathy grama panchayats.
