Articulating a sense of "home coming", AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa sought to strike a chord with the residents of Srirangam, right through her first leg of campaign in her constituency.
"This is my ancestral town. My forefathers lived here and I am one among you," she repeated, all along drawing lusty cheers from the residents, especially women, who had gathered in strength at more than half-a-dozen wayside meetings in Srirangam and Thiruvanaikovil areas on Thursday.
Though party cadres were understandably jubilant over their leader contesting from Srirangam, the excitement seemed to have rubbed off on the normally politically reticent middle income group families too.
"I usually vote for the AIADMK, but this time it is different and special. I am excited over Ms. Jayalalithaa contesting from our town. I have come to see and listen to her," observed a woman school teacher. She stood alongside boisterous party cadres for nearly two hours at Veereswaram Four Road Junction, the starting point of Ms. Jayalalithaa?s campaign.
Several others, including some in groups of families and friends, did not mind spending a couple of hours standing to see and hear Ms. Jayalalithaa at other parts of the town. Many clambered on to balconies and roof tops of houses and commercial establishments around her wayside meeting spots. She drew big crowds in front of the Rajagopuram of the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple, the Gandhi Road and Thiruvanaikovil Bazaar. Wherever the gathering was strong, Ms. Jayalalithaa addressed them from the roof top of her vehicle.
Ms. Jayalalithaa chose to dwell at length on more immediate problems of price rise and power cuts that her audience could relate to, rather than elaborate on some of the dominant political issues such as the 2G scam. To drive home the message, she listed the prices of some essential commodities and construction material.
Local residents were happy that the constituency has attained a "star status". "We hope that some of our local problems would get the required attention now," said S. Raghavan, a resident.
The AIADMK leader did not fail to sense the mood and promised to redress some long pending issues in the town, including the ownership dispute faced by residents around the Srirangam temple and the problems in selling off their properties. She also assured them steps to improve the infrastructure in the town as it draws thousands of devotees from India and abroad through the year.
