Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam had sung the Modi mantra during the election rally in the state, which had apparently showcased their strong allegiance to the Prime Minister amid the reports that some of the ADMK candidates are concealing Modi's name and his portrait while seeking the votes across the state. 

As Tamil Nadu is inching closer to the crucial assembly poll, which is the first legislative election for the state since the demise of political giants Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, the state is being invaded by the national political leaders for campaigning for their respective parties and alliance. In the midst of the anti-incumbency wave in Tamil Nadu with most of the pre-poll surveys have predicted that the ruling ADMK regime would be ousted from power, the BJP is hoping to have a satisfied political breakthrough in the state. 

BJP has formed an alliance with the ADMK and the Central ruling party will be contesting in 20 constituencies. With just having a week for the election, ADMK-BJP leaders are carrying out staunch campaigns and as part of that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu on Tuesday and held an election campaign in the Dharapuram constituency to seek votes for Tamil Nadu BJP President L Murugan, who will be contesting in Dharapuram, and for the ADMK. The campaign event was attended by Edappadi Palaniswami, Panneerselvam, BJP leaders, and the leaders of other allied parties. 

Edappadi Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had sung the Modi mantra in their speeches as they showcased their strong allegiance to the Prime Minister. Apart from speaking about their rule, both the ADMK leaders had seemingly clashed in winning the hearts of the Prime Minister. While addressing the event, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said, "The ADMK-led alliance will win all the 234 seats in the assembly polls as it is the alliance of victory. The Central BJP government has been implementing schemes in Tamil Nadu whenever being asked. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a great affection towards Tamil Nadu". 

The Chief Minister stated, "The tireless work of Prime Minister Modi is the reason why India stands pride on the world stage. The ADMK government has created 10 lakh employment opportunities in Tamil Nadu and Prime Minister Modi has made Tamil Nadu the best state in infrastructure through constructing national highways that stretch for 5,200 kilometers". "The ADMK government has contained the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu by getting advice and inputs from Prime Minister Modi", the Chief Minister added as he reiterated his allegiance to the Prime Minister ahead of the polls. 

While Edappadi Palaniswami had credited Modi for the development of Tamil Nadu, Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam had gone one step further to proclaim that Prime Minister Modi is the real Jallikattu hero. Speaking at the event, Panneerselvam said, "Modi is the real hero of Jallikattu as he removed the curb on Jallikattu". He further blamed the Congress party for destroying India after independence. Panneerselvam had been called the hero of Jallikattu by his supporters and ADMK members. 

In 2017, Tamil Nadu had witnessed large-scale protests against the ban imposed on Jallikattu, a traditional Tamil bull-taming sport, which is held during Pongal, a harvest festival in Tamil Nadu. The sport was banned by the Supreme Court under the grounds that it causes cruelty to animals and violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. After the ban, thousands of pro-Jallikattu protesters had gathered at the Marina Beach in Chennai and demanded to repeal the ban on Jallikattu, which was imposed in 2014. The protests had held for several days after which then Chief Minister Panneerselvam passed the bill in the assembly legalizing Jallikattu, which paved the way to conduct the sport. 

As he passed the bill to conduct the sport, he was being called the hero of Jallikattu by his supporters. Now, ahead of the polls, he has given up the 'hero' label and bestowed it on Prime Minister Modi to keep his allegiance. The drive from both the leaders to butter Modi has come when there have been reports and visuals from across the state that some of the ADMK candidates are not willing to showcase Modi's name and portrait at the ground level in their bid to get the votes from the minorities. Some of the sitting ministers had also said the ADMK leadership not to schedule Modi's campaigns in their constituencies as they would bother minorities, as they are not ready to accept Modi's face, which would leave them to lose the votes from minorities and common people. 

Apart from campaigning in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Modi had also visited poll-bound Kerala and Puducherry on Tuesday and held campaigns for the BJP. He also had completed rounds of campaigns in the poll-bound states of West Bengal and Assam, which have been going through eight and three-phased polls respectively. Tamil Nadu will go to the single-phase poll on April 6 and the votes would be counted on May 2, during which the results will be announced.