Tamil Nadu elections: From planting crops to making fried rice, candidates sweat it out ahead of polls

VELLORE: With just a few more days left for the polls, candidates are leaving no stone unturned, to woo voters.  

From planting seedlings on a paddy field, dancing with party men, preparing tea, to cook sumptuous fried rice, they are trying everything.

For 37-year-old Paritha, of AIADMK, contesting the polls in Gudiyatham segment in Vellore, not a single day passes without trying her hands on a professional activity.

Seeing farmers on the paddy field, she would rush to help them with planting seedlings. From lending a hand to help workers roll a beedi to making a garland to help a florist, she has done it all.

V Panneerselvam, a sitting AIADMK MLA seeking a second term in Kalasapakkam in Tiruvannamalai, has been regularly making food for his entourage when halting for lunch during the day’s hectic campaign.

He cooks sumptuous fried rice and omelette to keep his supporters in good humours, besides catching the attention of voters. “When we stop campaign for lunch break, I prepare the food for my party men. I just enter into a hotel or eatery and start preparing,” he says.

Candidates mantling the role of a chef and server is an attempt to win hearts of the local people, besides pleasing the party men.

DMK sitting MLA AP Nandakumar, who is facing polls in Anaicut segment in Vellore, cheers his party men by dancing with them to the tunes of percussionists and players of wind instruments, during the course of electioneering.

Indian Union Muslim League candidate for Vaniyambadi in Tirupathur district Nari Mohammed Nayeem went an extra mile to show off his batting prowess when he joined the local boys to whack the willow amid cheers of accompanying cadre.

Tamil Nadu Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Sevoor S Ramachandran, contesting at Arni in Tiruvannamalai, lays his hands on a loom helping people to weave clothes.

“I am not a tall leader. I am just one among the people. So, I just try to create a rapport with them,” Panneerselvam notes.