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On his way to address the mega poll rally in Coimbatore, organised by the DMK-led alliance for its candidates from Tamil Nadu’s western districts on Friday evening, Rahul Gandhi made an unscheduled stop at Shree Vigneshwara Sweets and Bakes in Singanallur. The Congress leader stepped out of his bulletproof vehicle to cross over a divider on foot.
Rahul’s purchase in the sweet shop, ‘Mysore Pak’ and 1 kg of gulab jamun, was meant for a special recipient: Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin. When a shop staffer asked him about the person for whom he was buying sweets, Rahul said: “For my elder brother, Stalin”.
The Congress posted the video of Rahul’s ‘surprise visit’ to the sweet shop on X. Responding to his ally’s post, Stalin wrote: “anbirkum undo adaikkum thaal” (Can love be stopped). Later, at the rally venue at Chettipalayam, Rahul presented the sweet box to a visibly delighted Stalin.
With Rahul’s ‘sweet gesture’ and Stalin’s happy pictures and their warm hug – a carefully choreographed move in public to project a robust INDIA alliance for the Lok Sabha elections – the event was probably one of the largest poll rallies held so far in this poll season in the state. While the organisers claim over 1.5 lakh people participated in it, independent sources said the rally was attended by nearly 95,000 people including about 65,000 women.
Addressing the rally in support of the alliance candidates from the Coimbatore, Pollachi, Erode and Karur seats, Rahul called Stalin his “elder brother”, adding that he “doesn’t say this about any other politician”.
Mixing regional pride with national identity, the Congress leader attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly reducing the diverse Indian cultures into monolithic narratives. “Why should there be a single language? Why shouldn’t Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, and Manipuri get their dues in India?” he asked, arguing for plurality as against the alleged BJP bid for cultural homogenisation.
The battle for West Tamil Nadu is considered crucial for all parties, which has been a traditional AIADMK bastion besides being a significant vote base for the BJP.
Calling Coimbatore “Manchester of South India”, Stalin, in his speech, called Rahul “future of India, hero of our hope, my dear brother…”
The Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a triangular contest with state BJP chief K Annamalai pitted against the DMK’s Ganapati P Rajkumar and the AIADMK’s Singai G Ramachandran.
Stalin said the ‘hero of the election’ was the Congress manifesto, reading out a number of its promises focusing on social justice, including Rs 1 lakh dole per year for poor women, 50 % reservation for women in central government jobs, exemption from NEET, a nationwide caste-based census, and a constitutional amendment to increase the 50% reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs, among other pledges.
Targeting Modi for criticising the Opposition instead of talking about his own achievements, Stalin responded to his charges over dynasty politics. “Anyone can enter politics. No one directly gets an official position. Only when standing in elections, meeting people, and people weighing their actions, can one attain a position. Prime Minister Modi has not only insulted us by accusing us of family-run politics, he has also insulted millions of people who have elected us,” he charged.
Stalin also slammed Modi over the corruption issue. He accused the PM of allegedly using agencies like the ED, IT, and CBI to “intimidate opponents and manipulate electoral processes”, questioning the lack of similar action against those linked to the BJP. Referring to the alleged Rafael scam, he said, “Prime Minister Modi… Can you talk about corruption? You provide a ‘Made in BJP’ washing machine that guarantees and cleans those stained with corruption.”
Stalin accused the BJP dispensation of having allegedly damaged Coimbatore’s economy with its demonetisation and GST policies, claiming that 35% of its textile mills are near closure.
He also charged that an industrial project was forced to shift from Coimbatore to Gujarat under the BJP’s pressure. “A major industrial company from Tamil Nadu, after finalising all discussions with the state government to invest Rs 6,500 crore which would employ thousands from Coimbatore, was intimidated and the industrial project was shifted to Gujarat. This is the BJP’s fake affection for Coimbatore. Moreover, a semiconductor industry project, which would bring huge opportunities, was also intimidated and shifted to Gujarat by the BJP,” he alleged.
“So, when Prime Minister Modi comes here and says he likes idli, pongal, Tamil, and Tamil Nadu, he should realise that his fake mask has shattered,” Stalin charged. “Let this voice from the South be heard all over India,” the DMK chief said, adding that the “BJP’s disregard of Tamil Nadu’s development, culture and language will be given a fitting reply in this election”.
All the 39 seats of Tamil Nadu are going to the polls in the first phase on April 19.
In the 2019 polls, the DMK-backed CPM candidate P R Natarajan had defeated the BJP’s C P Radhakrishnan by about 1.8 lakh votes in Coimbatore.
