On Monday, AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wound up her campaign, which snaked across the city, beginning at Kandhanchavadi on the IT Corridor, and concluding in the heart of the city at T. Nagar.
During the stops en route, she went all out against her political rivals, DMK and Congress, and took head on, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
She urged the crowds surging at most of the venues not to waste their vote by voting for the BJP, and bring a change by voting for her party candidates. “This was not an election to change the government, but to change the fate of the nation” by voting for the AIADMK, she said. Her government could take the nation on a path of peace, prosperity and growth, she said, at the same time tearing down Mr. Modi’s claims of development.
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Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Human Development Index served as a crystal-clear mirror to a State’s growth and development, and growth was inclusive only if it reached the poor, downtrodden and oppressed sections of the society. There was a difference between “true growth” and “growth through publicity”, she said.
She accused the DMK of betraying the fishermen and resolved that she would never do that. “The DMK was a part of the government at the Centre for nearly 17 years, but have they done anything for the State?” she asked rhetorically. “Nothing! He only took care of the welfare of his own family.”
Ms. Jayalalithaa also lashed out at Mr. Karunanidhi, accusing him of sacrificing the interest of the nation. Mr. Karunanidhi was a mute spectator when Sri Lankan Tamils were being wiped out, and while Tamil fishermen were being tortured by Sri Lankan Navy, he remained silent without raising the issue. However, he ensured at the same time that his children became ministers and members of parliament.
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Further, by making a false claim that the war in Sri Lanka had come to a close, he had only exposed Sri Lankan Tamils to the armed forces, she said.
Conducting her last-day campaign with great aplomb, she pulled out all stops not only to criticise her rivals, but also to make a strong point for voting a government at the Centre in which the AIADMK would play a key role.