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TN CM EPS unveils 'big' gift to the people ahead of elections: What's in it and how it will help ADMK?

By alagu, 19 December, 2020
Tamilnadu, ADMK, Legislative elections

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Saturday unveiled a big Pongal gift to the people ahead of the state assembly polls. Armed with the authority of the government, the Chief Minister has thrown a perfect bait to cover the voters in the upcoming elections in his bid to form the ADMK government for the third consecutive time. 

The upcoming election is the first legislative election for Edappadi Palaniswami as the Chief Minister and amid being queued up with external and internal challenges and allegations, he has been hoping to have a crucial surge in the race to retain the reign and to showcase him as the party's face after Jayalalithaa. As he has won the intra-party race for the Chief Ministerial candidate, he has been preparing to meet external challenges and allegations and in the absence of prominent face and political giant Jayalalithaa, Edappadi Palaniswami has been pushed to carry the responsibility of convincing the voters on electing the party again along carrying the allied parties. 

Being an acid test for him determining how people had accepted him in place of Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Saturday officially kickstarted his campaign for the assembly polls from his legislative constituency of Edappadi, Salem. In what has exemplified that the political heat has been brewing between the parties in the state, the Chief Minister has started his campaign in the midst of hundreds of thousands of people, and in his bid to cover the voters, he had announced the Pongal gift for the ration cardholders in the state ahead of the elections. 

Speaking at the government event in Salem on Saturday, the Chief Minister announced that each rice ration cardholders would get Rs 2,500 as the Pongal gift and the gift package will include one kilogram of rice, one kilogram of sugar, cashew, cardamom, and dry grapes along with one complete piece of sugarcane. The Chief Minister stated that the Pongal gift package will be distributed across the state from January 4 at all public distribution shops. The Chief Minister further added that the gift package will be given to 2.6 crore rice ration cardholders in the state. 

While the government had only given a maximum of Rs 1000 as part of the Pongal gift package to the ration cardholders in previous years, the announcement of providing Rs 2,500 for each rice ration cardholders has come in the wake of the election year during which the parties would fight each other in reaching and covering more voters through their welfare announcements and freebies. The political observers say that Edappadi Palaniswami's announcement could create a major impact among the voters as the ruling party would be reaching to the voters under the guise of Pongal even before the Election Commission announces the election date and imposing the election laws during the polling period. 

The Chief Minister further said, "The festival of Tamil people, Pongal is going to arrive and as the COVID-19 pandemic and cyclone had adversely affected the people, the Tamil Nadu government will facilitate Pongal celebration with all the white ration cardholders receiving Rs 2,500". The Chief Minister said that the authorities will be issuing tokens at the households for distributing the package at ration shops and he requested the people to continue providing their affection. 

The political observers say that this announcement from the Chief Minister would be the massive drive to cover the voters as the package will be benefitting over 2 crore ration cardholders, nearly half of the state population, at the same time and the ruling ADMK hopes that it would be one of the major factors to emerge victorious for the third consecutive time. However, the opposition DMK, which has been hoping to take over the reign after a decade, had flayed the Tamil Nadu government over its announcement. 

The DMK had condemned the Chief Minister for using the state's fund for his political benefits. Edappadi Palaniswami has started his campaign for the elections on Saturday. He started the campaign after offering prayers at Lord Perumal Temple in Periyasoragai, Salem. The senior ministers and leaders had gathered at the temple and gave a grand welcome to the Chief Minister following which he started his campaign by addressing the public and he also took part in the government events including inaugurating Amma clinics in Edappadi. On Friday, he announced that ADMK would contest the elections with the existing alliance -BJP, PMK, and DMDK. 

 

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