Terming the Sankarankoil by-election “a real challenge to the electorate,” the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam founder president Vijayakant has said the people, without allowing them to be influenced by allurement, should cast their vote against unprecedented inflation, power cut and corruption.
Kicking off his election campaign at Sankarankovil on Sunday evening after offering special prayers along with his wife Premalatha at Sankaranarayanar Temple, Mr. Vijayakant said the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which failed to execute ultra mega power projects during the past twenty years, had led the State to utter darkness. The scheduled and unscheduled blackouts had completely hampered development, particularly industrial growth of Tamil Nadu.
Instead of finding an effective solution to the power cuts, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was putting the blame on the Union Government even as students were suffering a lot during the time of examination.
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He dismissed the Tamil Nadu Government's recent announcement on Udangudi Thermal Power Project as an “election gimmick.”
The actor-turned-politician criticised the AIADMK's decision to field all its Ministers in the election campaign at Sankarankoil. “It has only showed that the AIADMK's popularity is waning and is on the descending note. The Ministers, who are making false promises to the electorate during the election campaign, will vanish after March 18.”
While making it clear that he could never be coerced by any force, he said electoral defeat was not new to his party and the DMDK would wage an intense battle at Sankarankoil as the voters of the reserved constituency should vote in favour of real growth and development and never in favour of freebies and corruption.
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“This election is a challenge posed to the voters of Sankarankoil. If AIADMK is defeated here, inflation will come down. Or else, prices of all essential commodities and electricity tariff will go up after March 18,” he said, appealing to the voters to support his party's nominee K. Muthukumar.