The friendly neighbourhood CM

There is no missing the point that this CM is different. Ask eight-year-old Geetha and her friends Selvi and Padma. They flock around 8216;CM Uncle8217; holding his hands familiarly, even climbing on to his lap. 8216;8216;Neenga ammavukku vela kodutheenga. Ippo Appavukku vela kodukkireengala? You gave my mother a job. Now will you give my father a job?8217;8217; Geetha asks tugging at Rangasamy8217;s crisply starched dhoti as he sits on a stone parapet in front of his friend8217;s shop, a stone8217;s throw away from his small bungalow in Thottanchavady constituency.

Whiling away time at the shop is not an election gimmick. It is a 30-year-old ritual. Even after he became CM, Rangasamy continues to frequent the shop at 7 am, sip a cup of tea over newspapers and discuss politics with childhood friends. He also is not averse to accepting criticism about his performance during this one-hour interlude with his chums.

The 56-year-old law graduate then speeds off on his motorbike to the police quarters for a game of tennis with the Lieutenant Governor, IG of Police and Chief Secretary. A good way to unwind, considering he8217;s just back from a three-day trip to Delhi where he discussed seat sharing with allies DMK, PMK and CPI.

Later in the day, he hurriedly finishes lunch; visitors have begun pouring in. Malliga is in tears. The wife of a coolie in Ananda Nagar, she rushed to the CM after the Government Hospital was refused to release her husband8217;s body despite her pleas that she was his wife. 8216;8216;They want a letter from someone in authority to certify that I am his wife,8217;8217; sobs Malliga.

The friendly neighbourhood CM quickly calls the medical superintendent of the hospital and politely requests him to waive the formalities and hand over the body to Malliga. He then rings up his secretary at the Territorial Assembly, located next to the hospital, and asks him to accompany the woman. Unseen, his assistant slips in a few rupees into Malliga8217;s hands.

8216;8216;He is a gem of a person. He comes to any function he is invited to by people in his constituency. Even to those organised when a girl attains age, a very important ceremony in these parts,8217;8217; points out Bhaskar, Rangasamy8217;s schoolmate.

His voters are all praise for their Chief Minister. 8216;8216;Though my husband died over a decade back, I started getting my pension of Rs 400 only after Rangasamy8217;s intervention,8217;8217; says Saorijini Periyasamy 65. 8216;8216;He will easily win here. Though he has been an MLA for three terms already, people are not tired of him. They are keen to have him back not only as MLA, but also as Chief Minister. He has scored a centum for his five-year performance,8217;8217; gushes mason Murali.

Even bitter rivals CPIM, which has for the part five years kept up an attack 8216;8216;against his corrupt regime8217;8217;, grudgingly admit that he is a 8216;8216;simple and accessible man, who willingly reaches out to his people, particularly from his constituency8217;8217;.

In fact, his near-celebrity status ensured that he is much in demand with candidates from his own party as well as allies. He would cover the town on his motorbike and use a car for the far away constituencies. So high has his popularity soared that Rangasamy has been unanimously chosen by the party to be its mascot for the elections on May 3 and 8.

But whether the feud driven unit will make him Chief Minister again remains to be seen.