Stalin to campaign from May 1

The party has announced his campaign itinerary barely a week after he wound up a month-long whirlwind tour for the Parliamentary polls.

Stalin will muster public support for two days in each of the four constituencies. The tour schedule was released after he held a consultation with the in-charges of the four constituencies at party headquarters Anna Arivalayam on Saturday morning. The second and final phase of the bypoll campaign, sources said, could kick off after a two-day break on May 11.

Earlier in the day, Stalin held separate meetings with the in-charges of the constituencies on cadre mobilisation, booth level electioneering work and spending for the bypolls.

Critics fear the four-constituency Assembly bypoll could be one of the most expensive the state has seen, given that the future of the incumbent government hinges on the poll outcome.

Both the ruling AIADMK, which would ‘save’ its government by winning around half a dozen seats, and rival DMK that is keen on unseating Edappadi K Palaniswami regime to either stake claim to form the government or trigger a full-fledged Assembly election in the state, would go all out in the electioneering process.

Also, the bypoll would pass the verdict on the leadership test Stalin and Palaniswami have been subjected to after the demise of their respective leaders. Significantly, the DMK, like in the Lok Sabha polls, has been one step ahead of its rivals in announcing candidates for the bypoll, organising teams to oversee preparations and begin the actual electioneering process.

So much interest was shown by the DMK that Stalin has engaged most of his key second rung leaders and district secretaries, including his trusted lieutenants like deputy general secretary I Periasamy, district secretaries KN Nehru, K Ponmudi and EV Velu to mobilise the workers for the bypolls.

Party sources in the know revealed that Stalin has given ample freedom to his functionaries to put all their ‘resources’ to good use to overcome the onslaught of the ruling AIADMK.

Earlier, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan called on Stalin at Arivalayam and thanked him for the extensive campaign he undertook for the Secular Progressive Alliance.

Emerging out of the brief meeting with Stalin, Vaiko lauded Stalin’s campaign and said that his party would support the DMK in the four-seat Assembly bypoll.

Vaiko said the MDMK would work on field in sync with the campaign plans of the DMK president.

The DMK has fielded Senthil Balaji, Pongalur Palanisamy, MC Shanmugaiah and Dr Saravanan in Aravakurichi, Sulur, Ottapidaram and Tiruparankundram constituencies respectively.