Another politician began his campaign from the famous Pattala Amman Temple in Ganguvarpatti Kallupatti on Wednesday.
O.P. Raveendranath, son of O. Panneerselvam, Deputy Chief Minister, commenced his electioneering after offering prayers at the temple. “It is a tradition for candidates to pray here before filing nomination papers,” said temple priest Malaichami.
“J.M. Haroon, who had contested in the past, had offered prayers at this 400-year-old temple, before filing nomination. Also, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who had won from [the erstwhile] Periyakulam constituency, had donated for building the compound wall for the temple,” the priest said.
Seeking vote for the ‘two leaves’ symbol, the first-time contender, clad in a white shirt and dhoti, stepped into an open jeep as the sun was scorching. Flanked by senior leaders like S.T.K. Jakkayan and sitting MP R. Udayakumar, he addressed the locals.
Waving at the villagers, Mr. Raveendranath did not elaborate on the “achievements” of the Central and State governments, but simply repeated that he would make their lives better.
Hectic pace
In places like Devadanapatti, the crowd showed more interest in receiving the candidate with traditional ‘aarathi.’ As they were running short of time, the campaign managers ensured that the candidate kept moving by just waving from the vehicle.
In the evening, the candidate, along with the AIADMK cadre, pulled the temple car at Balasubramanian Temple, Periyakulam. The AIADMK and alliance parties, including the DMDK, PT and BJP, organised a public meeting in the constituency to introduce the candidate where senior leaders took a pledge to strengthen the hands of Mr. Panneerselvam and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and bring back Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
Earlier in the day, family members of Mr. Panneerselvam offered special pujas for their family deity near Srivilliputtur in Virudhunagar district. Mr. Panneerselvam told The Hindu that the AIADMK would win in all the constituencies. “With the achievements of the Centre and State governments, we will seek votes.”
