Today is E-day in Tamil Nadu. One of the most bitterly fought poll battles is now underway. The Hindu calls it a watershed because of the high stakes involved. Neither alliance has spared any effort to woo voters. Free rice, television sets, personal computers, farm loan waivers have all been promised in a relentless rain of sops.
Will namma hudugi Jayalalithaa Jayaram of Lakshmipuram, Mysore, be able to buck the trend and become the first CM after M.G. Ramachandran to retain power? Or will the Muthuvel Karunanidhi family’s deft use of political power to advance their media and business interests pay off? Who will win? The AIADMK-led front or the DMK-led alliance? Who will be better for Karnataka’s interests?
If Jayalalithaa wins, it will be a stunning victory because she had the guts to arrest Karunanidhi and Jayendra Saraswati, dismissed teachers en masse, and because she got absolutely nothing in the Lok Sabha polls. If Karunanidhi wins, it will be because of the manner in which the family has used the political office of Dayanidhi Maran to get IT companies to come there, to armtwist laws to help retain Sun TV’s monopoly, and so on. Regardless of who wins, it will be a victory for opportunism. Former friends are now sworn enemies and all our poor Tamil brothers and sisters can choose from are film stars.
Given a choice it is always Jayalalitha. One may say it is choosing between the worse and the worser ones. But frankly Jayalalitha has proved to be a better administrator. A woman of convictions, courage and who showed doors to men who tried to trample her under their feet through the dirty game in politics.
NISHU : Is she your AUNT by any chance??
I have been critical of both of them to be able to comment unbiasedly. But I can’t help noticing that the choice between JJ & MK is more or less split on gender lines. Most females seem to support JJ while most males oppose her & therefore support MK.
if men support muthuvel and women support jaya, what inference can we draw about vijaykanth?