Four days after DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery Hospital after his blood pressure dropped, there has been a let-up in the number of party cadre thronging the premises. While they swarmed the entire junction in Alwarpet on Sunday night after news broke that their leader had suffered a health setback, the crowds thinned noticeably on Tuesday.
In the morning, the number of police personnel outnumbered that of party cadre. But the latter’s numbers did increase, to a certain extent, as the day progressed.
Kannamal Pandian, a DMK supporter who had come all the way from Kanniyakumari, said she was determined that she would head home only after her leader recovered. “There are many who have returned to their hometowns, but I’m not one of them. I’m sure he will be in fine fettle soon, and only after I see that will I go back [home],” she added.
At one point, DMK cadre had a minor scuffle with policemen when they were asked to move aside to make way for traffic.
Day after day, motorists taking the Alwarpet flyover religiously stopped and watched the crowd outside the hospital with curiosity before resuming their journey. Though police personnel kept giving instructions to the media and the party cadre to give way for the arriving patients, many patients had difficulty getting into the hospital.
About 100 DMK cadre thronged the hospital through the day, although the number of party flags carried by them have come down over the past three days.
The DMK's South Chennai women's wing organised a signature campaign outside the hospital for the DMK patriarch to get well.
Ahead of Congress President Rahul Gandhi's visit, the skies opened up, but a good number of supporters held their ground and stayed put outside the hospital gates, while others scurried to find cover under the flyover.
A photograph released around 5.45 p.m. made the day for DMK cadre. As the picture, showing Mr. Karunanidhi in the Intensive Care Unit, was circulated on WhatsApp, they cheered at the sight of the veteran leader. The photograph was released by the administrator of Mr.Karunanidhi’s Twitter account.
A wave of excitement once again swept over those waiting at the entrance of the hospital as actor Rajinikanth’s car drove in. Having returned from shooting for his next film, the actor dropped in to the hospital to extend his wishes for a speedy recovery of the five-time Chief Minister.
(With inputs from T.K. Rohit, Sunitha Sekar, Serena Josephine M., and Vivek Narayanan.)
