For Chennaites, the Metro Rail is the most preferred option for commuting and can’t be left out of electioneering, which has been gaining momentum as the polling day, April 23, draws near. No wonder, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday travelled in a metro train, interacting and canvassing votes for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
Though massive conferences and street-corner meetings — once the DMK’s campaign platforms since its inception in 1949 — have become passé, with parties entering the digital world in tune with changing times, personal outreach hasn’t lost its charm. Apart from addressing large rallies, Stalin and other leaders are engaging with people during morning walks in parks, on the Kanniyakumari beach with those gathered to watch the sunrise, and while sipping tea at roadside shops.
Boarding a metro train from the Central Railway Station in the morning, the Chief Minister and DMK president travelled up to AG-DMS station, close to the DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam. During the journey, which covered six stations, Stalin, sporting a T-shirt, interacted with commuters, giving them a pleasant surprise. He stood surrounded by young female officer-goers, sat alongside passengers, and took selfies on the platform with a few waiting for a train.
Accompanied by the party’s candidate for the Thousand Lights Constituency, Dr Ezhilan Naganathan, the Chief Minister, sought feedback on his government’s welfare programmes, which he said is a continuation of initiatives by his Dravidian predecessors, ‘Anna’, DMK founder CN Annadurai, and ‘Kalaignar’, DMK patriarch and his father, M Karunandhi. The Thousand Lights locality in Chennai derives its name from a mosque situated in the area.
Later, in a social media post, Stalin recalled that the then DMK government under Karunanidhi had been instrumental in getting the metro rail project, and described the journey as one soaked in people’s love.