MADURAI: While garnering support for DMK candidate Thanga Tamilselvan, who is contesting from Theni, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin appealed to voters to make him win with a huge margin of three lakh votes.

Launching his poll campaign for Thanga Tamilselvan at Theni on Sunday, this parliamentary constituency has a special significance since Chief Minister MK Stalin and the party stalwarts are expecting a clear victory for the DMK from here.

Further addressing the rally, Udhayanidhi said AIADMK and BJP though not in alliance are silent partners. Hence he asked the people not to believe in the so-called split between those two parties.

Lambasting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime during the last decade, the BJP-led government at the Centre did nothing for the development of Tamil Nadu.

“Has Modi ever visited Tamil Nadu over the last ten years, except for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the AIIMS Hospital project in Madurai in 2019,” he asked. Except for building a compound wall, the AIIMS project did not go ahead.

When unprecedented rains caused flooding and wreaked more havoc in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Thoothukudi, and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu in December last, Modi did not even bother to visit these flood-affected areas.

Even when CM Stalin demanded Rs 37,000 crore from the BJP government for carrying out flood relief and restoration works in the flood-hit, the Modi government did not even release a single pie.

Now, the BJP-led NDA is trying to discourage our students from education through the new National Education Policy (NEP), but the Stalin-led government stood firm in its opposition to the NEP and its insistence against the wishes of the Centre.

Even when J Jayalalithaa, the former AIADMK supremo, was against the NEET implementation in Tamil Nadu, the Edappadi K Palaniswami led AIADMK with mere submission as a slave to the BJP government, allowed the NEET in the State against the interests of the people.

Amidst a cheerful crowd on Saturday night, Udhayanidhi drummed up support for Tamilselvan at Usilampatti and Andipatti and appealed to the people to vote for the ‘Rising Sun’ symbol.

Citing that the centenary of M Karunanidhi, former DMK president’s birth falls on June 3, the DMK Front’s victory would be dedicated at the feet of Karunanidhi after the declaration of election results on June 4, Udhayanidhi, who sounded confident, said.