It’s a myth that the clout of the BJP has grown in T.N., says Thamizhachi Thangapandian

Thamizhachi Thangapandian dismisses BJP's growing clout in Tamil Nadu, confident of comfortable victory in South Chennai.

The Opposition’s claims that the BJP’s clout has been growing in Tamil Nadu, have no substance, the DMK’s South Chennai candidate Thamizhachi Thangapandian has said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Thangapandian dismissed the idea and insisted that it was a myth the party had created. “The BJP always, has this knack of setting up a narrative and then parroting it repeatedly, thinking people may believe it. But that isn’t the ground reality. I don’t think I’m facing a tough challenge in my terrain and I am confident of getting a comfortable victory. Our focus, now, is on gaining higher percentage of votes than the previous election,” Ms. Thangapandian said.

When asked about the anti-incumbency sentiment against the DMK, Ms. Thangapandian again rejected it, saying that the government has fared well, despite the numerous challenges they had faced: be it COVID-19 or the floods. Though quite a few areas, like Velachery, IT corridor or Taramani in her constituency, faced severe waterlogging, she said, despite intense non-stop rain lashing the city they had reached out to many areas, offering timely relief.

“After the fourth day, most of the city was clear, except for certain pockets. We were able to manage this because of the stormwater drains. When the DMK took charge, the first road map was created for establishing good stormwater drains in areas where there was a need. In Madipakkam alone, the work is still pending. But despite repeated pleas, the Union government has not given the State a single rupee as flood relief,” she added.

On the charge that in Sholinganallur, South Chennai’s biggest assembly constituency, people are upset even today that there is no access to basic amenities, like drinking water, sewage system, she clarified that Chief Minister M. K. Stalin had chalked out plans already, made allocations from the required funds and within a year, all issues will be resolved for the residents.

If the BJP came to power yet another time, does she anticipate a challenge for the DMK in getting funds released from the Centre for the key infrastructure projects in the city, like Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II project and the proposed second airport project? She was categorical in her reply: “It won’t be the BJP, but the India Bloc that will come to power and form the government at the Centre.” She added: “While the Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II project should have received funds from the Union government, despite several requests, no funds have been released till today. Instead, the State government has stepped up the efforts and shouldered the cost until now.”

While the Naam Tamilar Katchi is the only party to give 50% of its seats to women candidates, the DMK as an alliance leader has fielded only three women candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. When asked why there were only a few women candidates when it comes to representation in polity? Ms. Thangapandian said, “NTK and DMK cannot be compared. The DMK has to address the demands of alliance parties and make some adjustments while picking candidates. DMK is a party which had three women district secretaries.”