Now that the die has been cast, what are the Lok Sabha candidates in the State doing? Are they introspecting or mulling over the likely outcome with more than two weeks to go for the day of counting?
To glean insights into the voting pattern, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) organised a review meeting on Sunday at its Velachery office, mainly to get feedback from the functionaries who were actively involved in the poll process in the two constituencies — Chidambaram and Tiruvallur — the party contested in this election.
Discussions also centred on ‘Forms 17A scrutiny,’ which involves reviewing the booth-wise poll data by the Returning Officer with the candidates. It would reveal a lot about the manner in which polling had taken place on April 24. According to sources, the partymen were confident that the chemistry between the VCK and the DMK worked yet again in the northern districts, as it did in the last Lok Sabha polls in 2009.
The higher turnout in the districts with a sizable percentage of Dalits has also enthused the cadre. “We also listened to the problems faced by partymen during the poll process,” says D. Ravikumar, the VCK’s Tiruvallur candidate, who finds time for his publishing house as well. “Both are different,” he says.
“There is no rest for me. I’m now at Vadodara campaigning for our prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, in areas dominated by Tamil-speaking people,” said H. Raja, BJP candidate for Sivaganga. After the polls, Mr. Raja said, he had a detailed discussion with district functionaries on the response from the people on polling day.
Congress candidate for Arani M.K. Vishnu Prasad says he has begun an analysis, something similar to that of an exit poll, on how the party has fared in the constituency. “I am asking inputs from party workers from the booth level. This is something all candidates do. Other than that, I am cooling my heels. My daughter has just finished Class XII. So, I will help her choose a career now.”
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said he was focussing more on writing articles and reading books. After a gruelling campaign schedule in Virudhunagar, Mr. Vaiko said: “I have completely forgotten about the elections. I am playing volleyball whenever time permits and pursuing my lifetime ambition of promoting sports.”
