AIADMK co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday announced the provision of six free cooking gas (LPG) cylinders a year to each family and ₹1,500 a month to the woman-head of every family as part of the party’s promises for the Assembly election.
Addressing the media along with Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and other leaders at the party headquarters here, Mr. Palaniswami said the announcements were made on Women’s Day. He added that the manifesto, to be released shortly, would have “many more announcements that will gladden the hearts of people”.
‘A leak’
Asked whether his announcement was made in the light of the DMK’s promise of ₹1,000 a month to women, Mr. Palaniswami replied that his party’s manifesto had been in the making for the past 10 days. “Somehow, because of over-enthusiasm, some parts of it have got leaked to them [the DMK], just as you, mediapersons, share news among yourselves,” he said.
On the release of the list of AIADMK candidates and the finalisation of a seat-sharing arrangement with the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and others, the Chief Minister said everything would be completed shortly. “The filing of nominations begins on March 12. By then, everything will be in place.”
Asked about the composition of the alliance, he said those parties that had allied themselves with the AIADMK for the 2019 Lok Sabha election would stay in the alliance. Some smaller parties, too, had come in.
On the opinion polls that put the DMK and its allies ahead of the AIADMK-led coalition, Mr. Palaniswami said he was sure that the AIADMK would retain power, going by the verdict of the people who ensured the party’s victory in the Vikravandi and Nanguneri Assembly by-elections in 2019 with “huge margins”.
As for the support of the minority communities to his party, the Chief Minister said that in recent days, several Muslim and Christian organisations expressed their support to the AIADMK.
