EPS, OPS pushing hard for bypoll wins

According to AIADMK party headquarters sources, both the AIADMK leaders are now sweating it out to ensure that the party at least wins three of the four Assembly seats. Chief Minister Palaniswami is working on Sulur and Ottapidaram Assembly seats and his campaign is well planned and organised. There were complaints that there are not enough crowd attending the public rallies addressed by the AIADMK leaders, this issue is now addressed, and more public participation is ensured by the poll managers in the constituencies.

Besides the ministers and district secretaries, the party had also asked the political functionaries in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Vellore to take up party campaign works.

Unlike the Lok Sabha campaign where the leaders addressed only at prominent locations, now the route map has been simplified with the leaders reaching out to every taluk and villages where considerable voters are located. More stoppings and coverage of interior areas had been added to the campaign trail of both Panneerselvam and Palaniswami, party insiders told DT Next.

In the case of Tiruparankundram bypoll where AIADMK MLA AK Bose died paving way for a bypoll, the AIADMK is more focussed. Party leader and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam is leading the campaign in the constituency where majority of the voters are thevars considered to be a traditional vote bank of the ruling AIADMK.

The party had also roped in small caste outfits for the campaign and the local chieftains representing communities have been asked to work for the victoryof the AIADMK.

The ruling party had also reached out to Thamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader John Pandian who belongs to Devendra Vellalar community and Puthiya Tamilagam founder Dr K Krishnasamy, who heads a Dalit outfit to ensure the victory of AIADMK in Tiruparankundram and Ottapidaram reserve constituency.

However, the AIADMK and its rebel outfit AMMK seems to be less focused on Aravakurichi Assembly seat, where former AIADMK heavy weight Senthil Balaji is now contesting on the DMK ticket.

AMMK party office-bearers are also stretching their campaign in all four bypoll seats.

AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran is also eyeing the Tiruparankundram and Ottapidiram seats as the potential constituencies for its candidates contesting asindependents.