Namakku Naame 2.0, this time for Udhayanidhi

CHENNAI: Ahead of the Assembly polls, the DMK leadership is going all out to draw young voters by strengthening Udhayanidhi Stalin’s foothold in politics.  The campaign is also aimed at countering BJP’s planned Vel Yatra during which the saffron party hopes to consolidate votes.

Udhayanidhi, the party’s youth wing secretary, has been increasing his visibility significantly since the death of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi in 2018. However, there remains a few grumbling among senior party members over his growing influence even as it provides fodder for political opponents to wield the ‘dynasty politics’ charge.

The party has now decided to send him on a Statewide campaign to highlight issues of young voters. 
“The campaign will highlight job losses, unemployment, and Hindi imposition which are the issues faced by youngsters and job seekers,” said a functionary from the Kongu region, who is looped into the youth wing plans.

The campaign has shades of the Nammakku Naame campaign, in which Stalin, as the youth wing secretary, made a mark in 2015. Insiders claim the Statewide campaign helped the party improve its showing in the 2016 polls when it won 89 seats against the 23 in 2011.

Several youth wing and DMK cadre drew a comparison with the old campaign and called this tour “Nammakku Naame 2.0”. Sources added, many youth wing branches have also been established across the State, even at village-level. The tour is expected to cover at least 100 municipalities and as many district headquarters as possible with a focus on the Kongu region. “Udhayanidhi is firm that we secure all seats from the region,” said a functionary.