A confident Mayor is indeed a sight to behold

CHENNAI: In politics, there is no greater sight than seeing a woman become successful and a force to reckon with. A rookie in civic administration, Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan would definitely make the cut, if one were to qualify her ‘handling’ of the first onslaught of northeast monsoon so far in the city.

Holder of the not so enviable moniker ‘paapa’ (child) not so long ago, Mayor Priya has definitely made some impression this time. She’s being credited for almost deftly handling the media after working a graveyard shift since late Monday evening.

A palpable difference was evident in her engagement with the media on Tuesday morning. The young mayor neither required the prompting of her influential ministerial bosses who flanked her at annoying regularity earlier nor the prodding of even her subordinates to stave off the media barbs.

The usually unsparing media did not mind acknowledging (off camera) that she was confident in her answers on the first busy day of what looked like a stormy season.

What the publicity wing of the DMK, which had a field day trumpeting the quick draining of flood water in traditionally flood-prone areas, was doing is something even a political dimwit could easily guess. Sympathisers of the DMK sparingly used their social media space to also credit the debutante mayor for her media-handling prowess.