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Laying ground for 2024 or just ‘photo ops’? Stalin’s field trip through 4 districts sparks buzz

In past 2 days, CM visited four districts of Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur & Tiruvannamalai. Opposition BJP, AIADMK claim Stalin's visit was eyewash & that DMK administration is shaken.

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Chennai: In his two-day state tour that culminated Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin traveled 143 km in a train to Vellore during which a bogey was made into a makeshift office. 

The CM ditched his traditional white veshti and shirt for a T-shirt, a trouser and walking shoes. He met delegations of traders, farm associations and even tasted the food being prepared for school students. 

“In the 20 months that DMK  has been in power, 80 per cent of the schemes announced by the government have been fulfilled,” Stalin said, praising the district officials during a review meeting in the district and directed officials to focus on people welfare projects. “This field visit is not to find faults, but to put attention on the voices of people on ground.”  

While the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief called it Kala Aaivil Mudhalvar (Chief Minister on Field Visit)’, the first since he became the CM in May 2021, his rivals slammed it as “photo ops”.

The barbs from the opposition parties can be understood as political observers say Stalin wants to project himself as a “people’s CM” in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 

Senior political analyst Priyan told ThePrint that Stalin has the habit of doing field visits ever since he first became a mayor in 1996. “He sees it as part of his job profile,” he added.

“Even ahead of the 2021 assembly polls with the ‘Naamaku naame (We for ourselves)’ campaign programme across Tamil Nadu, he had an orientation towards meeting people. He wants to be seen as a people’s CM,” Prof Ramu Manivanan, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras, told ThePrint.  


Also Read: Tamil Nadu: BJP asks ally AIADMK’s 2 factions to unite before Erode polls, aims stronger NDA


Surprise visit to train office

At Government Adi Dravidar Welfare Primary School in Nadaparai, Vellore, at 8 am on 2 February, around 12 students had reached. Headmaster T. Anbazhagan, who had the morning duty to monitor the food served under the CM’s Breakfast scheme, had just come in too. 

Anbazhagan described he was surprised to see a convoy of vehicles park outside and Stalin walking into the school. “We knew the CM was in town but we did not know that he was coming to our school,” said the headmaster of the school that has 132 students. 

“He was polite and asked about the meal being served and about the students,” Anbazhagan told ThePrint. 

Interacting with the students, Stalin asked them about the food, if there was variety in the food served, and most importantly, if they liked it. After tasting a mouthful of the food, CM also went on to serve the 12 children who were there at that time. 

Launched in September 2022, the breakfast scheme covers 1,545 schools and benefits over lakh students across Tamil Nadu. This breakfast scheme is in addition to the already existing mid-day meal scheme, according to an official statement.  

Stalin also inspected the construction of 20  wellness centres built by the Vellore corporation at a cost of ₹25 lakh each.

During the course of the two-day visit, Stalin interacted with officials of Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts, as well as with farm associations, self help groups, industrial and trade forums. 

“It was a very quick interaction, maybe 5 minutes. We handed over the petition. The CM said that he will look into the plea,” said R.B. Gnanavel, a trader who is also a one of the 10 members of the government constituted municipal steering committee in Vellore. 

Gnanavel sought the CM’s intervention for the meeting of the committee, which has not taken place since its inception in three months ago. 

Tamil Nadu Farmers Association general secretary S. Udhayakumar, who was among 10 farmers who met Stalin in Vellore, said the delegation handed a combined petition listing 15 demands. 

“The CM said he will look into it. We have to wait and watch if our request is heard. The chief secretary has also promised that things will be looked into.” 

Groundwork for 2024?

The review visits of Stalin, according to the press statement about the Kala Aaivil Mudhalvar, will assess whether government schemes related to various departments reach the public. 

“Every act of a politician will have politics in it. BJP is trying to make a formidable front in the state and the ruling party will have a disadvantage where an incumbency factor will be there. To tackle this, the government will have to work extra miles,” Priyan said.

“I think it is to counter the BJP on ground in the short and long term perspective,” said Prof Raamu Minivan hinting at the Lok Sabha polls of 2024 and the state election of 2026. 

The opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have alleged that these visits were just “Photo ops”. “These meetings are more like set up meetings. Most people who met him did not have time to put forth their request properly to the CM. There is nothing happening on the ground. CM goes to the field, clicks pics and pushes off,” former AIADMK MP J. Jayavardhan told ThePrint.

The BJP alleged that the poor law and order forced Stalin to go on ground. “DMK administration is shaken. This will expose the DMK’s failure,” BJP state vice-president Narayanan Thirupaty told ThePrint.

Meanwhile the DMK stated that the chief minister’s keenness to check ground reality prompted this initiative. “The CM has announced so many projects and  schemes. He wants to check how these projects are happening on ground. It is the opposition’s role to make such negative remarks,” DMK MP T. R. Baalu told ThePrint. 

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: Just family meeting or clearing the heir? What Udhayanidhi-Alagiri camaraderie could mean for DMK


 

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