The IT wing of ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam reached out to youngsters on Elliot’s beach at Besant Nagar through hip hop and beatboxing as the party cadres on Saturday celebrated the day M.G. Ramachandran founded the party in 1972.
The outreach programme, dubbed ‘My Leader’, was designed to project Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as a leader who can provide inspiration to young people.
“The elections are around the corner and a significant percentage of voters are going to be first timers. We thought it only makes sense to address them directly,” said a member of the AIADMK’s IT wing.
Renowned drummer ‘Drums’ Kumaran opened the act along with a beat boxer as he went through what has become the usual routine: western beats punctuated by local Chennai rhythm.
A Pallavaram-based hip hop group then took the spotlight as they broke into a dance to ‘Billy Jean’ and other hits in front of a sizable crowd.
After the performance, the cadres of the AIADMK, who surprisingly took the backseat and were encouraging the crowd to enjoy themselves, unveiled a giant photograph of their leader.
The event, organised by the party’s IT wing, has reportedly been in the pipeline for the last one month.
“The party just had a one-member team during the last election but now it has expanded. The party high command recognises the need for a strong social media presence,” said a member from the IT wing. An IT wing member said that they were chalking out a plan to counter the strong presence of the DMK on social media platforms.
“We will challenge them on social media too. We do have a plan,” the AIADMK member said.
