Populist schemes help DMK beat anti-incumbency in T. Nadu
Chennai (PTI) Populist schemes like colour TV sets, 1 kg rice for Re 1 and loan waiver for farmers seemed to have worked wonders for ruling DMK which put up an impressive show in Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu defeating an alliance led by its rival AIADMK which had made Tamil Eelam an election issue.
The DMK bagged 18 of the 21 seats it had contested.
The victory came after both the national and local media had written off DMK and Congress citing the public outrage against the combine for its failure to bringing about a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Political analysts feel the colour TV sets which were distributed to BPL households across the state and rice for a cheaper price made an impact among the people which made them to vote for the alliance.
Analysts also say the pro-Eelam stand taken by the AIADMK on the eve of elections backfired.
Though UPA could not repeat its 2004 spectacular performance this time, DMK won from 18 of the 21 seats it contested while many Congress veterans lost their seats.
The state's UPA tally of 27 will bring stability to the Congress-led UPA government, which is short of some seats of majority.
Last time, it was 40 out of 40 from Tamil Nadu that helped UPA form the government at the Centre with DMK playing a major role in the coalition.
The DMK was represented by seven members in the Manmohan Singh cabinet and there were 13 Union Ministers from Tamil Nadu, the highest for the state.
The election results show it was a direct contest between DMK and AIADMK in majority of the constituencies and saw the rout of pro-Eelam parties like the PMK and MDMK in the polls.
The DMK, which was once an undisputed leader espousing the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils and other issues related to the community, had to face many opponents this time in the form of Jayalalithaa, Vaiko and Ramadoss.
People also sprang a surprise by voting in favour of debutants from Congress while rejecting veteran leaders like Manishanker Aiyar and E V K S Elangovan.
The DMK, which took a lead in announcing its candidates way ahead of the AIADMK, did not have any major campaigners as Karunanidhi spent first week of May in a hospital in Chennai.
He addressed only two rallies, including the one with Sonia Gandhi in Chennai.
National
